The Rose of Sharon
by Anath Tsurugi
Summary: Castiel has just about given up hope of ever finding Dean when he suddenly hears him calling out to him. What Cas finds upon answering the prayer, though, is both a blessing and a nightmare. Now impregnated with demon seed and hunted by everyone, Cas must find a way to save Dean Winchester before the former hunter destroys Heaven and Hell in his name. (Alternate Season 10, mpreg)
1. If I Should Die Before I Wake

(A/N) Well, it finally happened...just as I always knew it would happen when it did happen. I have been dragged, kicking and screaming into the Supernatural fandom...and this little fic here is the result. Well...let's go for a drive and see where we end up.

Warning: There is some dubcon/noncon in this first chapter, but it's not very graphic, all things being even. That comes later.

**The Rose of Sharon**

_Chapter 1: If I Should Die Before I Wake..._

A month.

It had been a month since Dean Winchester's death...a month since he'd walked out of the bunker, leaving them nothing but a note. Both Sam and Castiel had received calls from Crowley, but to hear the truth from him was somehow almost worse.

Castiel made a point not to think of the brief time that had elapsed between learning of Dean's death and learning of his resurrection as a demon. He had experienced a great deal of sorrow in his long life, but in the moment Metatron had told him Dean was dead, he had felt a horrible pain grip his heart...a pain unlike anything he'd ever known. However brief that time had been, it had well and truly been his darkest moment.

In those last few weeks, he and Sam had been canvasing the country, searching desperately for any sign of Dean, but so far he and Crowley had eluded them. Sam was currently pursuing a lead on the West Coast while he and Hannah were following up on a tip in Iowa. He wasn't completely sure why, but Hannah insisted on sticking with him. Something about him not taking proper care of himself...as if he mattered at all. Nothing was more important to him than saving Dean, not even his own barely flickering grace.

After getting off the phone with Sam from their weekly check-in call, the angel found himself leaning heavily against his car, breathing a sigh of frustration and exhaustion. He'd never been more determined, but at the same time, he'd never been closer to giving up hope.

_Dean, I don't know how much longer I can last...but I cannot die yet. There's one more thing I need to do before I die. There's something I need to say to you...and I cannot die with it unsaid. You must know...how much I-_

Castiel was fairly certain that whatever Hannah was saying was important, but he had to admit he stopped listening the moment he heard Dean's voice in his head.

_Hey! Angelface!_

"_Dean?_" he whispered in shock, immediately standing up from the car. He could see Hannah turning to him in surprise, see her mouth forming words, but he couldn't hear her. All he could hear was Dean fucking Winchester's damnable, blessed voice.

_Oh, good. You can hear me. I didn't think this whole prayer shenanigan was gonna work anymore._

Cas _wanted_ to feel relief at hearing Dean's voice again, wanted _some _kind of reassurance after the weeks of agony and _not knowing,_ but instead of being relieved, all he could feel was harsh, icy _fear._ This person speaking to him...he had Dean's voice, but it somehow wasn't him. This was not the man that he knew...that he _cared_ for. Something was different...wrong..._horribly___wrong.

Even so, even knowing that something awful had happened and that it was downright _foolish_ to fly to Dean as fast as he could, that was exactly what he did. Without saying a word to Hannah, he turned on the spot and was just gone.

At first, he didn't understand what had happened. All he knew was that he was completely drained and couldn't even summon the energy to remain upright when he reappeared. He collapsed to the floor, too weak to move.

"Huh. Didn't know you could still do that, Angelface," the familiar and unfamiliar voice said from somewhere above him. "How much grace did you burn up pullin' that little stunt?"

"What...just happened?" the angel barely managed to make himself ask, fighting to sit up and failing. When he finally managed to blink his eyes open, he found Dean sitting across from him on a bed. They looked to be in some motel room or other. The former hunter just smirked at him as he tossed the First Blade up and down. Castiel found he couldn't hold the gaze of those black eyes for very long. They just _weren't Dean._

"Oh, Castiel, if you don't know, I sure as Hell don't. I was expectin' to have to wait a bit longer for you to get to me, but hey, here you are. We can talk now."

"Dean, what...what _happened_ to you?" he heard himself asking. "First you're dead, then you're a demon. I don't...what _happened?_"

"Don't sit there and act like you don't know. You _knew_ this would happen. Didn't you. Castiel?" the demon pressed as he stood from the bed, each syllable sharp with accusation. Even though he laid the First Blade down before beginning to move toward him, Cas was no less afraid. He tried to move back. Couldn't. He was as weak as a kitten after that unexplained teleport: weak, frightened...and guilt-ridden.

"No!" he tried to argue as Dean knelt in front of him, black eyes glittering in the dim light from the single lamp. "I didn't know _what_ would happen. I tried to stop it. I couldn't-"

"Save your breath, angel," Dean snapped at him, seizing his collar and slamming him back against the wall. Cas heard the _crack_ of his head against the hard surface more than he felt the pain of it. "Fuck knows you ain't got many of 'em left. So we shouldn't waste time. I didn't call you here to put you on trial."

"You...prayed to me," Cas whispered through the blinding pain that had hold of his head.

"What?"

"You prayed...to me," he repeated, though Dean's face was swimming in and out of focus before his eyes. "How?"

"Wasn't easy. Take the pain you're feelin' now and multiply that by a hundred. That's what it felt like. I honestly didn't think it'd work, but now I've got you here, so we can get on with things."

"What things?"

Dean didn't answer him right away. What he did was to drag him across the room and toss him unceremoniously on the bed. Then he was straddling him and holding the First Blade to his throat.

"Castiel, this thing wants me to kill you so bad, you got no idea. Any guesses on why I _haven't?_"

Unable to bear the black gaze any longer, Cas turned away from him, squeezing his eyes as tightly shut as he could.

"Look at me, angel," he hissed in his ear, flicking his tongue out to lick along the shell of it. Cas' eyes shot open, but he didn't look up.

"No."

"I'm not gonna ask again," he threatened, pressing the blade down just a little more harshly.

"Dean..._please_..."

"_LOOK! AT! ME!_" the demon snarled, the fingers of his free hand digging sharply into the Angel's arm, forcing Cas to look up. "There. That's better. So you _don't_ wanna guess why I'm not slittin' your throat? Huh, Angelface?"

"Nothing you say will matter," he said, trying to summon up as much righteous anger as he could manage, though his predominant emotion at the moment was pain...a soul-deep agony over what had become of this man. "You are _not_ Dean Winchester!"

The demon leered down at him as he shifted the blade away, laying it down beside the angel's head. Then he moved in his now free hand to run a strangely gentle thumb along his jawline. "That's right. Keep tellin' yourself that. Tell yourself you're some virtuous warrior of God who got defiled by a demon from the Pit. Tell yourself you tried to fight. Tell yourself whatever you need to hear so you won't have to think about how much you _enjoyed_ this."

"What...what are you going to do?" Cas couldn't quite stop himself from asking, even though he knew...of _course_ he knew. He knew what this meant. He had known for a long time – _wanted_ for a long time, but had never had the courage to express that desire. Dean deserved so much better than a broken angel. But this...this _was not _Dean. If he let this happen...

"Don't play coy with me, Castiel. You know exactly what's gonna happen here tonight, and you _know_ you want it. I've wanted it, too. I've just been too much of a pussy before now to do anything about it. But you know what I decided after a few beers? Fuck that. That Dean's gone. I'm _takin'_ what I want, Angelface, and what I want is _you_...screamin' my name while I fuck you," he said before seizing Cas' lips in a harsh, demanding kiss.

In that moment, Castiel was almost relieved that he couldn't move...because he didn't _want_ to know what he would have done had he had the use of his arms. Would he have fought back...or would he have returned that embrace just as hungrily, pouring forth years of unspent, unspoken longing? Even knowing that Dean wasn't in his right mind, that he was no more able to consent to this than he was, would he have gone willingly into the other man's arms? He couldn't know...and he _feared_ to know. So he pushed all thought of consent and choice from his mind, allowing himself a single, tiny spark of joy as he and Dean kissed. Likely, it was the last he would ever know. When the demon pulled away from him, he could already feel tears pricking at his eyes.

"Dean...please...don't do this," he begged quietly, not able to look away as Dean pulled off the jacket and shirt he was wearing. He smirked down at him as he boastfully bared his muscles for him.

"And yet there you lay, eyeballin' me like a kid in a candy shop. Like what you see, angel?" he asked mockingly as he leaned forward again, subtly grinding his hips against Cas'. He could already feel how hard Dean was, and as much as he didn't want this to happen, he could feel his own body responding in kind. The way the demon's leer shifted told him he could feel him rising to meet him. "Guess you kinda gave yourself away with that one. I know you're not gonna tell me you don't want this," he said, grinding a little more fiercely as he pushed the coat from Cas' shoulders.

"No...I _do_ want this. You can't know just how long I've wanted this. But Dean, this _can't happen_...not like this," he struggled to explain as Dean propped him up against the headboard, working to remove the rest of his clothing. As he worked, he laughed.

"Not like this? What are you? Some little virgin still hopeful about her first time? Better drop those thoughts right now...or it's only gonna hurt more," he warned him, and before he began to pull the angel's pants down he glanced up at him briefly, and Castiel was almost certain it was only wishful thinking, but he thought, just for a moment, he might have seen those demon eyes soften.

"Dean, _please!_ It isn't myself I'm worried about. If you do this...you'll regret it forever. I have no wish to be the cause of that."

"So _fight back,_ Angelface," he challenged, taking in the sight of the angel spread out naked beneath him with appreciative eyes. "Oh, that's right. You can't. You're _too weak._"

"Dean-"

"Why do you keep sayin' my name like that? Hopin' for a miracle, maybe? Think I'll hear my lover's voice and just magically wake up from all this? Gotta stop livin' in the past, _Castiel._ Not gonna be any raising from Perdition this time," he said as he undid his belt and unzipped his pants, baring himself with a sneer.

Cas swallowed heavily before looking up into those soulless black eyes once more, steeling himself for what he knew was coming. "I know...you are no longer Dean Winchester...but...you _prayed_ to me. That shouldn't have been possible. I have seen Dean do the impossible and if anyone could retain their soul after becoming a demon, I believe he could. I speak now to whatever part of him remains. I _will_ get you back. My faith is with you, Dean...always...no matter what happens," he declared before closing his eyes and leaning his head back, prepared for whatever the demon was going to do to him.

_I am ready._

Dean didn't speak after that. He just fell on top of Cas, leaving no inch of him unravished. Preparation was painful at first and their coupling was rough and harsh, but as he slowly regained the use of his hands, he found himself clinging to Dean with all the strength he could muster. It wasn't much, but he clung to every moment of pleasure the former hunter gave him.

"That's right, angel. _Grip me tight,_" the demon snarled mockingly at him as he thrust into him over and over again.

The angel groaned in both pain and pleasure as he and Dean moved together on the cheap motel bed. He could do nothing but obey; he couldn't _not_ grip this man tight...couldn't not hold him as close as he possibly could while the beast within still allowed it. As painful as it was, he couldn't imagine a more exquisite pleasure.

"Dean...ah...Dean..._Dean!_" he cried out softly, not screaming as the demon had anticipated, but praying. Each broken cry was a prayer for Dean's safety...for his sanity...his deliverance. It didn't matter whether this prayer was heard or not. All that mattered was that he hold that wish...that resolution...firmly inside of himself.

Castiel felt the burn of the demon seed inside of him when Dean finally finished in him. The pain was awful, near unbearable...like a shot of poison that caused his insides to burn up, but he bore the agony in silence. He expected more taunting from the demon, but was instead shocked when he fell asleep in his arms.

"Dean?" he called softly, worried. He shouldn't need sleep and yet he seemed to have fallen into a very deep sleep, but before the angel could worry anymore, he found that he was also very tired. He didn't know that he'd _ever_ felt this exhausted. Before falling deep asleep himself, he pressed several tender kisses to Dean's face, taking the chance while he still could.

And even in sleep, Castiel held Dean as tightly as he possibly could.

_I'm sorry I let this happen...so sorry. But I swear to you...I won't fail again. We'll make this right._

Neither of the sleepers could have known it, but in this act of torment, passion, and love, they had changed the course of the world. No one could have possibly known, but when the two of them awoke, the world would be a very different place. For the first time since the beginning of creation, an angel and a demon had lain down together in love. Even though it had been a moment of agony between the two, an angel and a demon had still fallen together, and something that never should have happened was soon to happen.

XxX

When Sam Winchester had set out on his desperate search for his wayward brother, he had of course expected to face obstacles, but one of the last obstacles he'd expected to step into his path was Hannah.

She approached him when he was exiting a gas station, a desperation about her that one didn't often see in angels.

"Sam Winchester, I need your help."

Sam groaned as he shoved his way past her. "Why don't you shout the name Winchester louder so they can hear it down in the Pit. I'm a little busy right now."

"Please," she continued to press, immediately following after him.__"I've driven all night. I did not know what else to do."

"Seriously, not right now. Why can't Cas help you? Did you ditch him again?"

"That's why I need your help, Sam. Castiel is missing."

Sam's relentless march toward his car ground to an immediate halt at this. Feeling worry start to rise in his throat, he turned to face the angel. "What are you talking about?"

"Last night, after he got off the phone with you, he vanished."

"What do you mean he vanished?"

"Just what I said. We were talking and he just froze up all of a sudden and his face went completely ashen. He only said one word."

"What did he say?"

"Dean."

At this, Sam felt the fear crawling up his throat harden into a solid lump. "What?" he whispered.

"That's all he said, just your brother's name...as if he'd called out to him. Then he turned as if he meant to look for him and he just disappeared. It was almost as if he'd...flown somewhere," she struggled to explain, trying to brush some of her now unkempt hair out of her face.

"But...that's impossible, isn't it? You guys don't have wings anymore."

"Exactly. If Castiel didn't do this of his own accord, then someone must have taken him. I'm afraid whoever has him...might be hurting him. He hasn't called out to me even once. I have no idea where he is."

"And Heaven can't find him?"

"Of course not. Would I have come to you if this was something we could handle?" she snapped at him.

"Guess not," he murmured absently. The more pressing question for him was why Cas had called out Dean's name. Was it possible that Cas was with his brother? In that scenario, he couldn't guess whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, but he was leaning all the more solidly toward bad thing. Finally, Sam took hold of the angel's arm and led her to his car. "Come on. The only thing we can really do just now is keep following this lead I've got. I'm not-"

Sam's words were cut off when his phone started ringing. He stole a brief glance at the number and froze for a split second.

666.

Crowley.

There was no way this was a coincidence.

"What do you want?" he asked upon answering the phone.

"Ah, Moose, always such a polite child. How's your little angel companion? Out of sorts, I imagine."

"Where's Dean? Where's Cas? _What did you do to them?_" he demanded.

"Oh, my. And here I thought it was just Squirrel who'd become one of mine. Temper, temper."

"Don't make me ask again, Crowley."

"Nothing, nothing, not a thing. What those two have done, they've done to themselves."

"What the hell are you _talking_ about? What happened?"

"Oh, nothing special. Just what everyone's been saying would happen ever since the pair of them clapped eyes on each other. Only what with dear Squirrel becoming a demon, the results were somewhat...unanticipated, shall we say. I'd advise you make your way to the little lost angel as fast as you can. I daresay he'll be needing your help before too long."

"Where are they?"

XxX

In his first hazy moments of consciousness, Castiel didn't remember that anything was wrong. He was curled up in bed with Dean, cradling him close...and it was only after he'd pressed a kiss to his ear that he remembered exactly _why_ that was wrong.

"Mm, you and my new darling have a fun night, Sleeping Beauty?"

Cas' head snapped up at the sound of Crowley's voice. He looked over to see the King of Hell sitting in a badly-stuffed green armchair on the far side of the room. Without even thinking, the angel shifted into a protective crouch over Dean's still comatose body, even though he recalled distantly that Dean didn't _need_ protection...not from Crowley, leastwise.

"You," he growled quietly.

"Yes, me. Thank you for explaining that to me. I wouldn't have realized it. But do tell, Castiel...how _was_ it?"

"You cannot think to-"

"Oh, but I can. I don't know what the stakes were like in Heaven, but we've had a pot going in Hell for some time now and I upped my ante quite a bit when this whole Mark of Cain business began. Sure enough, the two of you didn't disappoint me. So _spill_, little angel. Pun not intended, of course," he said, chuckling at his little joke as he got to his feet.

"It is not something you could ever understand, demon," Cas snapped, glaring at Crowley.

"What? _Love?_" he taunted as he stalked slowly toward the bed. "More blood has been spilled for love than any other cause under the sun. Is that what you'd like me to understand? Besides, you've got a very strange definition of the word if you call what our little squirrel did to you love. Honestly, he's been talking about nothing else but jumping your bones these last few weeks. Bit annoying, really."

Even though Cas knew this was neither the time nor place, he couldn't quite help the faint fluttering sensation he felt in the heart muscle. "He was...talking about me?"

Crowley rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Non. Stop. Everybody he got into bed with, he was on about you afterward. He's had a taste of every girl from here to Albuquerque. A few _boys_, too. Good thing he finally got _that_ out of his system. But all the things he was saying about _you_, heh, almost made _me_ want to sleep with an angel again. I shudder to think of how long he's been bottling that up, and now that he's got no inhibitions, well...you can see the results. You should be thanking me, really."

"_Thanking_ you?" Cas repeated incredulously, feeling a spike of pain in his heart. "You want me to _thank you_ for turning Dean Winchester into a demon?"

"That was no fault of mine," Crowley pointed out. "He was the one who made the decision to bear the Mark. He did this to himself."

"But _you_ were the one who led him to it. What I _should_ do is _kill_ you," he snarled.

"Ah, ah, ah, we seem to be forgetting something. You and Moose were the ones who didn't _stop_ him using the Blade. Granted, it wouldn't have been easy, but you could have put a stop to it...except that you _knew_ it was the only way you could defeat your enemies. You let it go on until it was too late. If anyone's to blame for this, Castiel...it's _you,_" the demon hissed in his face.

"_No!_" the angel cried out in anguish, turning away from the King of Hell. "That's not true."

"If it weren't true, you wouldn't be looking away from me in guilt and shame. Face it, angel boy. You _let_ this happen."

Castiel didn't want to admit it to himself, much less the demon, but Crowley was giving voice to the thoughts that had plagued him ever since Metatron had told him Dean was dead. Had his own search for Dean been nothing more than an attempt to turn away from that guilt...to block it out and not have to face it? Whatever the case might have been, now wasn't the time to be thinking about it. Slowly turning to look at the demon, the angel glared at him again. "What are you doing here, Crowley?"

At this, Crowley sighed, moving one hand up to rub at his forehead and the other down to rest at his belt. "In truth, I'd been hoping to find you broken and the Winchester cured of his obsession with you so we'd have all this disgusting UST water under the bridge and we could get back to what our proper roles are. Unfortunately, that seems not to be the case. No...we've had a completely different outcome altogether," he said, rubbing his temple in frustration.

"What are you talking about?" Cas asked.

"I assure you, I never would have allowed this tryst to happen if I'd known what would come of it. I assumed it was a simple matter, but, well...to assume makes an ass out of you and me," he said with a dark chuckle. "Things between Heaven and Hell are going to get even more complicated than they already were. As if we didn't need _that_ to deal with."

"Crowley..._what are you talking about?_" Cas repeated.

The King of Hell looked at him strangely for a moment, but his expression quickly shifted to what Dean would have referred to as a shit-eating grin. "Oh, my dear little angel, you mean to tell me you...haven't noticed it yet? I suppose the term 'little' angel is even more accurate than ever."

"Noticed _what?_" the angel pressed.

"You're looking quite spry for an angel whose stolen grace is just about burnt up. Aren't you even the tiniest bit sore from what Dean did to you...or exhausted from that unexpected flight?"

Now that Crowley brought it up, Cas found that he was right. Dean had been very rough with him last night, but there wasn't even the smallest hint of pain or exhaustion. He was healed...and when he sought a deeper reason as to why, he finally realized the truth. His grace had been restored.

"How?" he wondered aloud, gazing down at his hands in shock. It shouldn't have been possible, but here it was.

"Dig a little deeper," Crowley encouraged with a wicked sneer. "I think you'll see the truth."

Cas did so, but when he finally did discover the truth, he wasn't sure whether to be horrified or elated. All he could really manage to do was grip his stomach in shock.

"How...how can it be?" he asked, feeling the presence of the separate grace within his being. It wasn't his...but it was still somehow a part of him. It had come from him...and from Dean, but it wasn't just grace he was sensing. He could feel the presence of the demon seed intertwined with the grace, but how two such disparate things could exist together in a single entity was far beyond him.

"Your guess is as good as mine, sweetheart. Whatever the case may be, though, one thing's for certain. Such a thing has never happened before. A being like this has never before existed, so there's no telling what it will become. And of course it would be the spawn of the angel and his hunter."

"This...this is..._Dean's_ child," Cas said slowly, mindlessly running his fingers over the flesh of his belly.

"Well, sure...if you want to call this thing a child," Crowley said in a somewhat bemused tone, a little surprised at the angel's lack of response.

"We...created a life."

"Oh, dear. Sharp as a tac, you are. Castiel, you are not hearing me," he said as he firmly gripped the angel's shoulders in his hands. "The existence of this child will rattle the foundations of creation. Both Heaven and Hell will be turned upside down. If we thought the wars up until now were bad, they'll be _nothing_ compared to what's coming. There will be _blood_ for this child. What I really ought to do is just kill it now and save myself the headache."

This was what finally snapped Castiel out of his shocked stupor. When he saw Crowley's hand drop back to his belt, no doubt reaching for his gun, the angel quickly called his angel blade to his hand, so that when the King of Hell had the barrel of his angel-killing gun pressed against his stomach, he had the tip of his blade pressed against his throat. Crowley just sneered at him.

"Ooh, Cas, you're not usually this fun. I think I like this new game."

"I will allow _no harm_ to come to this child," Castiel said fiercely, digging the angel blade in just deep enough to draw a trickle of blood. Crowley just laughed as he lowered the gun, slowly taking a step back.

"My, but that mothering instinct did kick in quickly. A demon-angel hybrid? You don't even know if this thing is _worth_ protecting."

"This child...is more than the evil that has befallen Dean Winchester. It is a part of the good man that he once was...that he will be again. If that weren't true, then there's no way the child could have been conceived. I think you know that...and that's why you're afraid of it. It means you don't have complete control over him."

"I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm afraid of it," Crowley said, though the look in his eyes when his gaze flitted down to Cas' stomach said otherwise. "In fact, I hadn't even really intended to kill it. I'm rather interested to see how this plays out. After all, a child like this could be of great use to me."

"You will never _touch_ our child, Crowley," the angel hissed at him. "So long as a part of the Dean I knew exists in this world, I _will protect it._ No matter what it takes."

"You're sure about that? Will Heaven even allow such a creature to exist? I know they don't take too kindly to the Nephilim. There's no way they'll condone the offspring of an angel and a demon. Will you stand alone before the fury of your fellow angels?" the demon asked, a glint of amusement in his eyes.

"Yes," Castiel answered without hesitation. "I have faced down Heaven's rage before. I will do it again. As I said, I _will not_ let this child die. I _won't!_"

"Now that I will truly enjoy seeing. I make no guarantees of aid, though. I'm going to stay out of it for now. Let the chips fall where they may, as it were. I haven't decided exactly what it all means yet."

"If you're just going to stand there, then you can leave. I'm sure I'm keeping you from the business of wreaking havoc," Cas said, turning away from the demon once more in favor of gazing down at the one who still slept soundly on the bed. In this state, Dean actually looked peaceful, which was so rare a state for him, the sight almost made Cas want to weep. There wasn't even the faintest hint of the monster slumbering within.

"Go on, just do it. You know you want to," Crowley egged him on, already having taken several steps back.

"What?"

"Share one last bittersweet kiss with your precious lover. Tell him how much you love him and vow to save him. Go ahead; I promise I won't look," the demon said as he turned around.

Cas didn't really care if he looked or not. He would have done it anyway. Leaning down over Dean, he briefly ran his fingers through his hair before pressing his lips to the former hunter's, kissing him with all the tenderness and love he hadn't been permitted last night.

_It's as he says, Dean. I love you more than life itself. I will not let this be your fate._

Trailing down the side of the sleeping demon's face, he pressed a gentle kiss to his ear before whispering, "I love you."

"Done," Crowley's voice resounded throughout the room, and with a snap of his fingers, Cas suddenly found himself alone in the room with no trace that anyone but him had ever been there.

For a moment, the angel couldn't help wondering if he'd hallucinated the whole thing, but he knew that wasn't true the moment he collapsed back upon the sheets. Dean's scent still clung to the rough fabric, mingled with his own. More than this, though, he could still feel the newborn flame of grace flickering inside of him, resonating with his own reborn grace. This flame was only just beginning to grow...just beginning to be...but already it flickered against his heart with the warmth of the sun and the moon. But it also burned with the hint of something dark and dangerous. A black flame with a heart of pure love. In all of creation, no angel had ever possessed grace like this...and no demon had ever held a darkness quite like this. This child was well and truly something new.

_Dean's child...his child...my child...__**our**__ child. Our baby._

The newly impregnated angel had no idea what was correct to feel in this moment. Trapped somewhere between fear and love, he ultimately chose love. He didn't care what anyone else said or thought. He loved this child...as he loved Dean. He would always love it. This flicker of darkly burning grace was something precious he and Dean had created together, and he knew already that he would willingly give up his own life to protect it. So for a long while after, Castiel just lay there on the bed, loving that beautiful flicker of dark light.

XxX

(A/N) So...any interest in seeing where it goes?


	2. Sweet Angel Conceived

(A/N) Well, reception so far has been nice and enthusiastic. Thank you for all your comments and favorites. Let's keep going!

**The Rose of Sharon**

_Chapter 2: Sweet Angel Conceived_

Sam drove through most of the day to reach the address Crowley had given him, and he honestly had no idea what to expect when he and Hannah approached the motel room the King of Hell had told them about. There was always the very great possibility that this was all a trap, so Sam was armed to the teeth, hoping to be ready for whatever they might possibly find behind the door.

"Dean! Cas! Are you in there?" he called out as he rapped on the door.

"Castiel, please answer us," Hannah pleaded when there was no response.

"Nothing. You ready for this?" Sam asked the angel, who nodded and pressed her hand to the door, instantly unlocking it. Sam went in first, angel blade at the ready for whatever might attack them. The only thing they saw upon entering the room, though, was Castiel. He was sitting on the bed and staring out the window, not really seeming to see what was outside it.

"Cas?" Sam called hesitantly, lowering the blade, but not putting it away. Slowly, Cas turned to look at him.

"Sam?" he whispered, as if he wasn't sure he recognized him.

"Cas...where's Dean?"

"Gone," he said, turning back to the window.

"But he was here?" Sam pressed, finally putting the blade away.

"Yes."

"Castiel," Hannah started, moving into the room and kneeling before the dazed angel, "he did not...harm you...did he?"

"No," Cas said, shaking his head as a strange, sad smile drifted across his face. Sam couldn't help but notice the way his hands gripped the rumpled sheets a little tighter. "He did nothing to me...I had not already wished for him to do."

"What...what do you mean?" Sam asked, though with Crowley's words earlier, he was afraid he already knew.

"Last...last night...Dean and I...we...he _took_ me...here in this bed," Cas fought to explain, struggling for every word. Sam felt horror fill his gut as he watched his friend flounder.

"Oh, God, Cas. You mean...you mean he raped you? The demon _raped_ you?" Sam heard himself asking as he approached the bed, even though he felt the word burn in his throat, even though he didn't want to believe such an awful thing of his own brother. He didn't know that he wanted to live in a world where it was possible for Dean Winchester to do the unthinkable to Castiel.

Again, Cas shook his head, though he couldn't quite stop himself from reaching out to take Sam's hand. "No. It's not really possible...to rape the willing. I didn't stop him."

"That's not the same thing as consent, Cas. You don't have to say anything to spare his feelings. He's not in his right mind right now. It's _not him,_" Sam tried to argue.

Even though he kept on squeezing the hand he held tightly, Cas continued to shake his head. "No, Sam. I wanted this."

"Jesus, Cas, I _know_ what he means to you. We all do, but...God dammit, it wasn't supposed to happen like this!" Sam growled, returning the pressure of Cas' fingers with his own firm grip, trying to let him know it wasn't him he was angry at.

"Do you need me to heal you?" Hannah asked him.

Cas shook his head slowly, that same strange smile making its way across his face. "Hannah...haven't you noticed it yet?"

Sam watched as Hannah surveyed her fellow angel, hands moving forward to take his free hand in hers. She looked into his eyes and Sam saw her breath catch as her own eyes widened.

"What? What is it?" Sam asked.

"My grace has been restored," Cas answered, not looking away from Hannah.

"How is it possible?" she asked him, her hands falling to the floor, almost as if she were bowing to him.

"It's not," he said simply. "If you keep looking, I believe you'll find something else that's impossible."

Once again, Hannah looked into him and once again her breath caught and her eyes widened, but her expression held less of awe and more of terror this time.

"Dear God," she whispered as she staggered to her feet, stumbling backward until she'd hit the wall. "Dear God, it can't be."

"What is it now?" Sam tried to ask, glancing back and forth between Cas and Hannah.

"I know what you're thinking, Hannah, but you're wrong."

"There's no way such a monster can exist. Not it _shouldn't_ exist. It _can't _exist!" the terrified angel shouted at her friend, cowering as far from him as she possibly could.

"Please, Hannah, just let me explain," Cas said as he rose from the bed, finally letting go of Sam's hand. "It isn't what it looks like. You know it wouldn't have been able to happen if it was. This situation is different."

"_No!_" Hannah shouted, drawing her angel blade and pointing it at Cas with shaking hands. "This is some dark power from Hell...a trick to distract us. Castiel...my friend, this abomination has infected your mind. I beg you...we must destroy it."

"What the hell is this?" Sam asked, quickly stepping between the two angels with hands raised. "Just what exactly is going on here? Someone wanna fill me in?"

"I know you for a just angel, Hannah. Believe me when I say that I have no wish to fight you...but you may also believe me when I swear that no angel or demon will bring harm to this child. I will _die_ first," the angel vowed, his voice dropping into an even lower growl than usual.

"No. No!" Hannah snapped, her eyes still wide with fear as she made her way to the door while trying to keep as far away from Cas as possible. She kept her blade trained on them the entire time. "I won't let this happen. I'll find some way to stop this, Castiel. I promise!" Then she was gone.

"Well," Cas started, his shoulders slumping dejectedly, "that could have gone better."

"Cas...what the hell just happened?" Sam tried to ask again. "Seriously need a clue here."

"I'm sorry, Sam, but we don't have time to waste. No doubt Hannah will call on Heaven for aid and they will doubtless answer with a situation this serious. We need to be gone from here. I'll explain on the way," the angel said, a different sort of resolve in his voice than the hunter was used to hearing from him.

"The way to _where?_" Sam pressed as he followed his friend out of the room.

"_Anywhere!_" Cas snapped. "Anywhere so long as it's away from here."

Ultimately deciding to trust the angel's urgency, Sam led the way out to his car, keeping an eye out for Hannah all the while. He didn't spot a single trace of her and he didn't speak again until he and Cas were well out on the highway.

"All right, Cas, I think I've been patient long enough. What's this all about? What's Hannah so afraid of? You said something...about a _child,_" Sam pointed out, really uncertain as to what that could mean.

"Yes. You of all people certainly deserve an explanation. You see...last night...when Dean came into me...I don't truly understand how it happened; it shouldn't be possible...but Dean and I...we created a new flame of grace," Cas explained, clutching at his knees as he spoke.

"A child," Sam said softly, staring out at the empty road before him. His first thought was 'aren't you both men?', but of course that wasn't the case. Castiel was an angel, and considering his own experiences with angels, this was hardly even in the realm of the bizarre. "But...he's a demon. What's this baby going to be?"

"I don't know. Such a thing has never happened before. What Hannah said was true. This grace inside of me...by right, it _cannot_ exist. It's impossible for angels and demons to...to breed. We simply aren't compatible."

"Then how did this happen?" Sam pressed. He could hear that Cas was starting to drift off into his own thoughts and they couldn't have that just now. He needed him to focus.

"I have theories, of course...but nothing I can prove," he said, hands slowly drifting up to rest against his belly.

"I'm listening."

"I let him do what he did because...because of my feelings for him. Before it happened...he said he'd been too afraid in the past...to let himself have what he wanted. I believe...he may have felt as I did," the angel said. Sam could feel him starting to shake in the seat beside him.

"Oh, come on, Cas. Of _course_ he loved you. You don't need to dance around it. His loss for being so damn _stupid_ about the whole thing," Sam growled. Had he not been driving, he would certainly have taken time to shake some sense into the dense angel.

"Yes, o- of course," Cas said, hands shifting back to his knees to grip tightly at them...to stop himself from trembling. "I believe that...perhaps the cause of this...is that his feelings for me still exist...somewhere within the demon. That may have allowed his power to bond with my grace. This new flame...it bears the grace of an angel and the dark seeds of a demon."

"And because it can't exist, Hannah was afraid of it," Sam finished.

"Just so. She has every right to be. Anyone who hears of this will be afraid."

"Well, Cas...no offense, but how do you _know_ this isn't something to be afraid of? I mean...nobody's ever seen anything like this."

"I _don't_ know...not...not rationally, at least. But if my thinking is correct, I don't see how it can be. Whatever else this child may be, it is part of Dean. We are still part of each other. I've already failed him more times than I can count. I won't fail again. I won't let anything happen to our child," he insisted vehemently, actually drawing his knees up against his chest, as if to protect the fragile place where the new life rested.

"Cas, I get it," Sam started, reaching over a hand to rest it on his shoulder, "but we've also gotta-"

"No, Sam. No, you don't 'get it'," Cas snapped at him, recoiling from the touch as far as the car would allow. "It isn't just the demon seed that makes this grace different. I can feel this little one inside...and this presence feels no different to me than Dean's. This grace almost has more the feel of a human soul than an angel's grace. I don't understand it, but I _know_ this is Dean's child! I love them both! I understand what it looks like, but I know this child was conceived in love. I will not allow Heaven or Hell or anyone else to take _anything_ more away from me!" the angel near-screamed.

"Whoa! Cas! Calm down!" Sam pleaded with him, holding a hand up in supplication. "I'm not saying we need to do anything drastic. I just want us to be rational about all this. We've been in some pretty deep holes before, but this is completely new territory."

Cas remained pressed against the car door, but the tension in him did loosen visibly. It was replaced instead with an air of sorrow. "It's love, Sam. It isn't rational. You and Dean have been trying to explain that to me for years, but I didn't realize just how fiercely I could know it until this day."

Well, the angel was certainly right about that one. Sam had done things he wasn't proud of in his search for Dean and he was almost frightened to acknowledge that he didn't care. It was almost like being the same soulless wretch he'd been three years ago. Shaking off the bitter memory, Sam quickly focused his attention back on Castiel. "That I can sympathize with, but it doesn't make the situation any less sticky. I know we always say the three of us are enough, but...it isn't the three of us anymore. It's just you and me."

"Be that as it may, it's you and me fighting for Dean. We aren't going to fail. Besides, there are still technically three of us," Cas pointed out, a hand drifting to his stomach once more. Sam couldn't quite help his small bark of amused laughter at this.

"God, but we really are starting them young now. That kid doesn't even have a pulse yet. Are we gonna start fighting off angels with teddy bears? Gonna stick it to demons with holy pacifiers?"

"If we have to," Cas responded with a straight face, and for the life of him, Sam couldn't figure out if he was actually using sarcasm or not. A visual of _that_ battle, he did not need. Finding himself laughing and crying at the same time, Sam finally pulled off the highway. Cas looked up in confusion at this. "Where are we going?"

"We're gonna stop for gas and a bite. I need to make sure you stay well-fed, after all. If we head back from here, it shouldn't take more than two days to get back to the bunker. There's gotta be something we can learn about all this. Dean's just gonna have to wait a few days."

XxX

Crowley growled low in his throat, rolling his eyes as he pushed himself off the wall he'd been leaning against. He glared at the door of the motel room next to him, from behind which were coming some very distinct thumping sounds.

"Are you quite finished in there, princeling?" the demon called out, rapping on the door a few times. There followed several more violent thumps and an ear-splitting scream before Dean appeared at the door, chest covered in blood and jeans only half on, his spent cock still exposed. He was holding the First Blade loosely over his shoulder, dripping with freshly spilled blood.

"Ah, commando. Sexy. I imagine it rather turns our friends on before you slice their throats."

"Makes things go quicker when I've just gotta slip down the pants a bit and not have to worry about the briefs," Dean explained, scratching his shoulder with the blade. "You really gotta keep interruptin' like this? I could have gotten another ten minutes outta that one."

"You do know I haven't been sending you those Abaddon groupies just so you can get off, yes? That mark of yours _needs_ murder."

"So? What's it to you if I have a little fun before the Mark gets its kicks?" Dean asked as he drew back into the room. Crowley groaned in frustration as he followed him.

"Nothing to me. But isn't this well and enough?" the King of Hell asked as he gestured to the mangled corpse that was still bound to the bed. "Wouldn't the whole bloody business be easier served by returning to Hell? Don't get me wrong, it's been great fun, but there's work to be done. Why the need to fuck everything that moves...and even...some things that don't?" he asked, wrinkling his nose in distaste at the thought of the last Abaddon loyalist he'd sent Dean's way.

"I dunno. I guess I can't stop thinkin' about Angelface. Everything I put my dick in just sorta turns into him...and then I put the Blade in 'em and I see him and somethin' inside just starts _screamin'_ and...I dunno. I guess I just keep doin' it 'cuz I'm not sure if the last time was real. Maybe I've just got a hard on for punishment," he said, driving the Blade into the corpse for good measure.

_More like punishing __**yourself,**_ the demon monarch thought as he surveyed the fresh-faced demon with wary eyes. If even being reborn as a demon couldn't free Dean Winchester of this hatred of himself, he truly had no idea what would.

"And you don't think it might just be better to get it over with? Call the angel to you and put the Blade through his heart? Just have it over and done with? You _know_ he'd come to you if _you_ called," Crowley told him, though he very much didn't like the fact that he was encouraging a fellow demon to _pray_. The whole business was nauseating, really.

"What? You wanna _watch?_" Dean asked with a lascivious smirk, raising the Blade to his lips and licking off the blood.

"Maybe," Crowley returned mildly, though he was really more interested in seeing what would happen should the pair come into contact again. Would Castiel reveal the existence of the abomination? What would Dean's reaction be if he did? Would he kill his would-be lover and their unborn child...or would he prove unable to follow through? Would he _want_ the abomination to live? There was no way to know. What Crowley wanted to see...was just how far over the Winchester Hell's control extended. He had already displayed an unnerving ability to pray and to call a falling angel to him. Just what _was_ the little squirrel now?

"Yeah, no. I don't think so," Dean suddenly snapped, and faster than even Crowley could track, he was standing before him, holding the First Blade to his throat.

"What do you think you're doing?" Crowley demanded, looking at his would-be minion with trepidation in his eyes. There really was no predicting this wild card of a Winchester.

"None of your business, dickbag. What I do with my little angel toy is nobody's business but my own. I don't think you _get_ to watch us. You don't get to tell me what to do. I didn't agree to this whole right hand man thing, y'know? I'm still weighin' my options. I've wasted so much damn time doin' everything for everyone else. Not anymore. Now I'm doin' whatever I want. If I decide that includes the angel, then all you get to do is stay behind and jack off. You don't get to watch me fuck him. Only _I_ decide when I'm done with Castiel."

"Going to kill me, Dean?" the demon king asked, still holding his gaze. "Are you forgetting who I am? Not for nothing did I make it to the top of the food chain. I'm the _fucking king._ You're just a baby running around making noise. Do I need to put you in your place, baby?" he suggested, though he was no longer certain just how true the previous statement was...and when he saw Dean's sneer widen, he knew the other demon could see that fear in his eyes.

"Thing is, Crowley, I don't think you _can_. Not now, anyway. It isn't just the Blade. I dunno how, but I can see I've gotten a lot stronger than you thought I would. I could put you down like a dog right now. I think I'll be callin' the shots from now on. Maybe what I want is for me and that pretty angel to rule in Hell together. Fuck knows he's taken enough shit from Heaven. Yeah, that's it. That's what I'm gonna do. I'm takin' over...and there ain't a damn thing you or your little punks can do about it," Dean declared, pulling the Blade back so quickly as to leave a tiny knick in the skin of Crowley's neck. Then he shoved him to the floor before walking away from him.

"If that's your intent, why are you running away?" Crowley challenged, knowing full well he was taking his life in his hands by doing so. "Why not just kill me now?"

Dean laughed at this, not looking back at him as he spoke. "Listen to me good, Crowley, I'm not doin' this 'cuz it's the _smart_ thing to do. Nothing rational about it. I'm doin' it 'cuz it's gonna be _fun._ Wouldn't be any fun if I just dropped you now. This way you've got time to be _scared_. You're not gonna see me comin' for you. I'll get to see you piss your pants like a scared little boy before I kill you. So watch your back, little king," he warned. Then he was gone.

"_Dean!_" Crowley snarled in anger and fear, but the fucking little spitfire was long gone. The King of Hell couldn't help it. For several minutes, he just knelt there on the floor...shaking. Maybe Dean didn't know why he was becoming so strong, but _he_ certainly did. It was the child...the _abomination._ Its conception had somehow restored Castiel's grace and it was surely the reason Dean was developing power far beyond what even the Mark of Cain could grant. So long as the horrid little beast continued to exist, both Dean and Castiel would only continue to get stronger. Heaven? Hell? All of creation? They could have it. They could have it all. Together they could have whatever they wanted. The only question that remained was...would either of them become aware of it?

"Okay...not good," Crowley muttered, finally getting to his feet. This little urchin was officially not a good thing. Either he needed to be in control of it by the time it was born...or it would have to be destroyed.

XxX

In spite of how frightened she'd been upon running out of the motel, Hannah's first act had not been to hook into the angel radio. Somewhere in her terror, she'd realized that to broadcast this secret to the scores of angels who still lived would be to invite a holocaust down upon Castiel, no matter what he'd done for Heaven. Frightened angels would crawl from the woodwork and do anything in their power to prevent him from bearing this _creature._

No. She couldn't let that happen. If she wanted to save Castiel, she would have to seek the help of _one_ angel – one angel who knew more than any angel who had ever lived.

Making the long trek back to the gate over the course of several days, she reentered Heaven at night, telling no one of her intent when she entered the prison.

"Ah, Hannah," Metatron called loudly upon noticing her outside his cell. "Come to see me in my loneliness? How's our dear Castiel doing? Not well, I hope."

"No...not well. In fact, worse than anyone could possibly imagine," she said softly, feeling herself tremble at the memory of the horror she'd witnessed.

"Oh?" the former scribe wondered, raising an eyebrow. "Do tell. The grace is just about used up, I gather?"

"No. Castiel's grace has been restored," she answered, making a point of not looking at him.

"What? That...that's not possible," Metatron said, shaking his head.

"I wish it weren't...for his grace has been restored by a monster. If this is allowed to continue, Castiel will surely destroy us all."

Not looking at the imprisoned angel, Hannah didn't see it of course, but Metatron's look of confusion slowly shifted to an enticed smile as he listened to her speak.

"Tell me what's happened, Hannah," he said soothingly.

"Castiel has...he has done the unthinkable. He's been unpredictable in the past, but this is different."

"What's he done?"

"He...he has...coupled with a demon!" she shouted, as if she hadn't truly believed it until that moment. "And they...their power together...it has created an abomination – a creature that cannot possibly exist."

"Ah...Dean Winchester," he said knowingly. "The Mark did its work well, then."

"I'm certain he was taken against his will. Neither of them could have _meant_ for this to happen, but it still did. Something evil was conceived...and now Castiel will not permit it to be destroyed. He swears he will die first. Surely this creature is influencing him somehow!"

"And just what do you think _I_ can do about this?" Metatron asked casually, drifting away from the cell bars and moving to lean against a wall.

"If this abomination is born, it will mean the end of all of us. I can't imagine you want that. There must be something you know – _something_ in your store of knowledge. There _must_ be a way to stop this from happening!" she pressed, moving forward and gripping the cell bars in white fists.

"Interesting that you believe there's somehow a precedence for this, even though, supposedly, nothing like it has ever happened before," he said. He knew he had the angel hooked. Now it was just a matter of reeling her in.

"What do you mean 'supposedly'?"

"As a matter of fact, I _do_ know something...but I hope you don't believe you can get that something for nothing. What do you have to offer?"

"I'm not going to let you out, if that's what you mean," she said, taking a minuscule step back, but not pulling away entirely.

"No, no, no, of course not. Tell you what – I'll tell you what I know, then we'll decide if my price is worth the information you need to make it so. Sound fair?"

"What do you know, Metatron?" she asked, moving in close once again. She hardly noticed him moving closer to her.

"Hannah, have you ever heard...of the angel Israfil?"

The younger angel thought on it for several moments, but was ultimately forced to shake her head. "I don't know this angel."

_In Heaven a spirit doth dwell_

_Whose heart-strings are a lute;_

_None sing so wildly well_

_As the angel Israfil,_

_And the giddy stars (so legends tell),_

_Ceasing their hymns, attend the spell_

_Of her voice, all mute._

At first, it was strange to hear Metatron sing, but as Hannah listened to the words, she found herself drawn in by them...left with an aching longing deep within her being...a longing to know this sad, forgotten angel who sang so wildly well. "Who is she? Who is this Israfil?" she heard herself asking, almost without her own permission.

"Israfil...is God's one and only retcon."

"What does...that mean?"

"The Burning One. I've never been able to decide whose punishment was worse: Israfil's or Lucifer's. Lucifer was only banished...imprisoned. But Israfil was erased. She was written out of living memory, so that it appeared she'd never existed at all. Only God and I still remember her: our Israfil...the fifth archangel."

"There is no fifth archangel. That's impossible," Hannah tried to argue, shaking her head.

"How would you know? If all trace of her was erased, you certainly wouldn't remember whether she'd existed or not. That was her punishment: oblivion...to be completely forgotten by all while still existing in plain sight everyday."

"But...even if that's true...what was it she did that merited such a punishment?" Hannah pressed.

"Israfil fell in love with a human, just like our Castiel...and when that human was twisted into a demon, the archangel fell into a situation very much similar to his. An abomination was conceived, but its birth was prevented. If anyone can help you prevent his fate, it would be her."

"And if...Israfil really _was_ erased...where is she now? How can I find her?"

"As I said before, she exists in plain sight. God changed her form, locking her in the shape of fire. Essentially, she _is_ the essence of fire. She exists in every flame that ever has been or ever will be. All that's needed to bring her forth is the proper ritual," he explained.

"Hold on," Hannah said, suddenly uncertain, desperate as she was to save Castiel's life. "The situation didn't work out so well in Heaven the last time you performed a ritual. Why should I believe you now?"

"Don't be stupid, little Hannah. What reason do I have to lie to you about this? I haven't asked for my freedom in return, now have I?"

"No...but what is it you _do_ want in exchange for the ritual to call her?"

"All I ask in return is one simple favor. Bring her here before you take her to Castiel. It's been such a long time and I want to talk with her again."

"That's all you want?" Hannah asked, feeling for the first time that there might actually be hope for this hopeless situation.

"That's all I want."

"All right, then. Tell me how to bring forth Israfil."

"The incantation itself is easy enough. I'll grant you that knowledge once you've succeeded in your tasks. There are certain...ingredients you will need to perform this spell."

"What must I do?"

"There are seven things you will need in order to reverse God's decree. The first is the blessing of a demon lord."

"But that's impossible. Demons don't bless things," she insisted.

"Don't interrupt me, Hannah. You'll find many of these things near impossible to secure, but you're the one who has to discover the truth of each item, not me. If this ritual were easy, everyone would do it. The second item is a handful of fairy dust. The third is the heart of a desperate child. The fourth is the perfect height of faith, hatred, and love. The fifth item is the trust of one who is not yet a mother. The sixth is a ring of perfectly mirrored hunters' blood. The seventh and final item is the flesh of a mother whose circle is unbroken. Bring these things together and Israfil will be free."

"Metatron, that...none of that makes any _sense._"

"As I said, it's for _you_ to figure out. If you can't, then you're not worthy to raise her. Castiel's fate is in your hands now, Hannah."

For a moment, the angel just stood before the cell, feeling utterly hopeless. There was no way to even know how long she would have to solve this impossible riddle. If she failed...if Castiel was allowed to give birth to this monster...

Ultimately, though, she nodded, steeling her resolve. She couldn't let this be Castiel's fate, not after everything he'd done. He _deserved_ to be saved.

"All right. I will do what needs to be done. I will return here when I have completed my tasks."

"That's my good girl. You go fight for creation!" Metatron called after her as she headed out of the prison. She didn't see it, but the former scribe was grinning from ear to ear. When he was alone, he laughed quietly into the darkness of the cell.

"And thus I clothe my naked villainy with old odd ends stol'n out of holy writ, and seem a saint, when most I play the devil."

XxX


	3. I Pray You'll Be My Eyes

(A/N) Well, I see a lot of you are eager to see Dean's reaction to this whole situation. I suppose I should be honest and say we're gonna have to be patient on that one, seeing as how it's kinda the only card the good guys have to play at the moment. In the meantime, though, there will be plenty of things happening to keep you entertained. Let's see what you think of this.

**The Rose of Sharon**

_Chapter 3: I Pray You'll Be My Eyes_

_At first, he isn't certain what he's hearing. The sound is unfamiliar, but as he slowly starts to come out of his daze, he realizes what it is: a baby crying._

_The child!_

_Climbing to his feet, Castiel hurries out of the library and toward the living quarters. The cradle is set up in Dean's old room and the baby girl is lying in it, crying her eyes out. The angel rushes to his daughter, lifting her into his arms._

"_Hush, little one. I'm here now. Everything's going to be all right," he soothes her, cradling her against his chest as he rocks her._

_As the baby slowly starts to calm down, Castiel can't quite help admiring the tiny set of wings at her back. He knows Sam can't see them, for they are part of her fledgling form, but they are beautiful to him nonetheless...and he likes to think that Dean would also find her beautiful, even if he can no longer perceive beauty in the same way. Their daughter is the first angel to have wings in almost two years. Truly beautiful._

_Castiel starts to hum tunelessly. He knows he's not much good with lullabies, but she seems to like the feel of the vibration in his chest as he rocks her._

"_I love you," he says as he tenderly kisses the top of her head. When she's finally asleep again, he sits down with her in the rocking chair, not quite ready to put her back to bed. He wants to hold his girl a little longer._

"_Little princess finally go back down?" he hears Sam's voice at the door. Without looking up, he nods, just watching her sleep._

"_Yes. I'm sorry if she disturbed you."_

"_Yeah, well...Dean never let me study in peace, so I guess it's only right his daughter doesn't either. She's adorable, but I'm almost afraid to see what she's gonna be like when she starts walking," he says as he walks into the room._

_Castiel can't help smiling at this. "She'll be just like her father...never in just one place." He isn't sure how one thought can be both joyous and painful...so painful. Sometimes he can almost swear he sees Dean looking out through her eyes._

"_Femme Dean. God help us all," the hunter says with a chuckle. When he reaches them he stretches down a hand to stroke the brown peach fuzz on her head._

_**Yes...God,**__ the angel thinks with a spike of bitterness. It's been a long time since he's believed that God would help any of them, but sometimes he can almost swear he feels the divine presence when he's alone with his daughter...almost as if one of his brothers or sisters is watching over them, whispering in his ear._

_**Go, pretty child, and bear this flower unto thy little savior; and tell Her, by that bud now blown, She is the Rose of Sharon known.**_

"_She really is a princess," a new but familiar voice says...and Castiel looks up in horror to find that it's not Sam, but Dean._

"_Shh," the demon whispers, pressing a finger to his lips before deftly slipping the baby out of his arms. "Don't wanna wake the little tyke."_

"_Dean, please...don't harm her," he says, sitting up in the rocking chair, but not daring to stand, for fear of causing Dean to act rashly._

"_Oh, Angelface, why didn't you tell me? She's __**my**__ kid, too...my little princess," he says, tickling the little girl under the chin. Slowly, she blinks awake, gazing up at her father with black eyes. When his own eyes turn black, she coos for him, reaching a tiny hand up to touch his cheek."Aw, yeah. That's my sweet li'l angel. You know your daddy, don'tcha?"_

"_Dean, she's- she's only a child. What could she possibly be to you?"_

"_You mean aside from my own flesh and blood? That's rich. Think I wouldn't be a good daddy? Well...who are we kiddin'? All the Winchesters have daddy issues. Point is, Castiel, you can't go forgettin' that this kid ain't just an angel. She's part of __**me,**__ too. She's part angel...and part __**demon,**__" he snarls as he cradles the baby girl against his chest. Almost immediately, her tiny wings begin to flutter against him, but they're different now: one is a feathery white angel wing – the other is a leathery black bat's wing. As Dean holds her tighter, she starts to cry._

_Unable to bear it any longer, the angel shoots to his feet, desperate to get his little girl away from her father. The moment he reaches for her, though, the two of them catch fire._

"_**NO!**__" he cries out. He reaches, he struggles to move forward, to catch them in his arms, but no matter how hard he tries, he can never reach them._

"_Don't think you can keep her from me, angel. She's just as much mine as she is yours," he says before kissing the baby's head. He keeps his eyes locked on Castiel's as they burn up._

"_NOOO!_" Cas woke screaming, desperate hands reaching out to grasp at nothing.

"Cas! What's wrong? What is it?!" Sam shouted as he appeared in his doorway. For a moment, the distraught angel had no idea what was happening.

"I- I saw...Dean...and the child...on fire," he struggled to explain, fighting against the tightening of his throat and the burning in his eyes.

"Oh...oh, Cas. It's okay. You were just having a nightmare," Sam explained as he came to sit beside him on his bed.

"I...shouldn't," the angel choked out. "Not now...I'm an angel again. I had dreams when I was human, but...nothing so awful...nothing like _that_."

"It's okay, man. It's a normal reaction to these things."

"I shouldn't still be _able_ to dream, though. When I...took Theo's grace...the dreams stopped."

"Is this the first one you've had since then?"

"No. I've been having them...ever since it happened," he explained, hand drifting to his stomach out of habit. "But they've only ever been...good dreams...dreams about the baby...about all of us being here together. This was the first...nightmare. It was...just..._horrifying,_" he said, voice dropping to a whisper as he drew a knee up to his chest. Horrifying didn't even _begin _to cover it. He wasn't even sure if there _was_ a word for it.

"It wasn't real, Cas. Whatever you saw, it was only in your mind," Sam tried to comfort him, even though he could see that nothing he was saying was having any effect on the angel.

"Why should that mean it wasn't real. That _could_ happen."

"Just...don't think about that. We've got to keep positive here."

"Sam...it's been three weeks. There's nothing for you to find in this archive because this has _never happened before_. We're really just going to have to make it up as we go along."

"Well...I did learn more about angel reproduction than I thought humans could possibly know," Sam said, trying to crack a smile.

"And we already know that a lot of it doesn't apply in this case. We're just going to have to write the book on this one ourselves," he said, trying to return Sam's small smile, but ending up with more of a wince.

Sam was about to say more when his phone suddenly started ringing. Wondering who would call at six in the morning, he slipped out the device, taking a moment to note that he didn't recognize the number before answering it.

"Hello?"

"Sam Winchester?" a woman's voice sounded at the other end of the line.

"Yes. Who is this?"

"My name's Elaine Serra. I don't know if you remember me."

"Of course I remember you. How's Merry?"

"Oh, she's fine. Wonderful, all things considered."

"What do you mean?"

"Sam, you wanna explain to me why your brother just tried to take my head off?"

Sam's heart just about stopped at this. "You've seen Dean?"

"Yes. Kinda hard to miss the axe murderer hiding in the back seat of your car...if you wanna call that weird bone an axe, I mean."

"Elaine, are either of you hurt?" he asked her.

"No," she replied, but then he heard a very similar voice in the background scoffing and calling out 'don't lie.' He could almost hear Elaine rolling her eyes. "All right, fine. A few cuts. Nothing we haven't dealt with before. But the question stands...why was Dean Winchester trying to kill me?"

"That's...a very long and involved story. I'll tell you when we've got the time. Where are you two? Is Dean still on your trail?"

"Probably. He said he'd be back. We're out in Colorado working a case up in the Keystone area. We've got a pretty bad dryad infestation up here."

"Anything we can bring along to help?"

"Chocolate," she said without hesitation. "How far out are you?"

"We can be there in less than twelve hours if you can hold out that long."

"Sure thing. It's not really the dryads I'm worried about. We've just about got those handled, but Dean...he was...I don't know. Something's wrong."

"You don't know the half of it. We'll talk when we get there. Just...be sure to work some devil's traps into whatever you've got going up there. You both still have your anti-possession tattoos, yeah?"

"Sure do. Any sense in asking what we're supposed to be on the lookout for?"

"Nope. We'll talk when we get there. Stay alive," he ordered before hanging up the phone.

"What was that all about?" Cas asked.

"Somebody spotted Dean. Up for a trip out to Colorado?"

XxX

Once Sam had looked up a few water binding spells and gathered up any needed supplies, along with the chocolate Elaine had requested, he and Cas were on the road by sun up.

"So who are they? Elaine and Merry?" Cas asked him about half an hour into the drive.

"They're twin sisters. People call them the hunter twins. Dean and I helped their family out with a demon situation about eight years ago," he said, looking pointedly at the road. The Serra twins were not a topic he particularly liked to discuss, but if Cas asked him, he certainly owed him an explanation.

"What happened...if I may ask?" the angel pressed, at least knowing enough to leave him the out.

"Elaine and Meredith Serra. Their parents couldn't get pregnant...so their mother made a deal with a demon."

"Oh...one soul in exchange for children?"

"No, actually. This one was a little different. The demon made the firstborn deal. Rae Serra would become pregnant with twins, but after fourteen years, she'd have to give one of them back...the firstborn...Elaine."

"So...the deal was not completed?"

"In a way, it was. Dean and I happened to be in town the week the girls were turning fourteen. Things were happening to them. Merry asked us to help...afraid she was going to lose her sister. At first, we thought they might be cursed, but when we started to dig deeper, the whole ugly business came to light. Rae begged us to save her daughter. We tried to save them...but Rae and Tony Serra were taken that night...in place of Elaine. I don't think she's ever forgiven herself for it. She still has a mark on her leg...from where the demon tried to drag her away."

"So the two of them became hunters."

"Yeah. As I understand it, they spent a pretty bad four years in foster care...separated from each other. The moment they were legal, they found each other and took up the hunter's life."

"And...why do you suppose Dean would go after them?"

"There I have no idea. I don't know if Dean's even _sane_ right now. Could be he's just attacking at random."

"Except that these two are people that you knew, so most probably not."

"Yeah, wishful thinking."

"Well...hopefully we can reach them before Dean does."

"Yeah," Sam said absently, even though he knew neither of them was very confident of that. The girls were tough, but they were young...like he and Dean had been back in the day. They were up against something they weren't equipped to handle.

_Damn it, Dean, you'd __**better**__ not hurt those girls. You and me...we're like heroes to them. Even if they forgive you...you'll never forgive yourself._

XxX

It was night when Sam and Cas pulled up to the cabin Elaine had told them about. Keystone was one of the larger ski resorts in Colorado, but outside of the winter months it wasn't very crowded. As such, it had taken some months for the infestation of water sprites to be noticed. The twins had taken care of that problem, but now they were up against something much worse.

The lights were out, but Sam knew that didn't mean anything. Either the twins were still safe, or they weren't. There was only one way to find out.

"Elaine? Merry?" he called out as he and Cas approached the cabin, he with Ruby's knife and Cas with his angel blade. He couldn't see the door open in the dark, but he could definitely hear the creak of it.

"Sam? Is that you?" a voice called out.

"Yeah. It's me and Castiel. You called me last night to tell me that Dean attacked you," he said, letting her know he was definitely the same person she'd spoken with on the phone.

"Thank God," the young woman said in relief, opening the door to reveal herself with a rifle and her sister with a lantern.

"So...which is which?" Cas asked quietly. The girls were perfectly identical, right down to the very last curl of long red hair.

"We'll know in three...two...one..." Sam counted under his breath.

"Sam!" the sister with the lantern called out eagerly, rushing to them and throwing her arms around Sam. "It's so good to see you!"

"Good to see you, too, Merry," he said, glancing at Cas over the young woman's head as he hugged her back. Merry was the more outgoing of the twins. Elaine never would have rushed out to greet them like that. She was still standing in the doorway, rifle trained on the darkness behind them.

"And this must be Castiel," the younger twin said as she moved over to hug the angel. Cas faintly hugged her back, but looked at Sam with a raised eyebrow.

"What can I say? She's affectionate. Y'know, Merry, we'd probably better continue this conversation inside."

"Yeah, sure. Come on," she said, spinning on her heels to lead them into the cabin.

"Devil's traps at the front and back doors and at the four windows," Elaine counted off as she circled the main area of the cabin. "Now...before we proceed any further...did you bring the chocolate?" she asked, whipping around to stare Sam down.

"All yours," Sam said, holding out one of the bags he was carrying. Elaine snatched it and triumphantly pulled out a Hershey bar. The wrapping was barely gone before she had nearly half the bar in her mouth.

"Sorry," she apologized through a mouthful of chocolate, the rifle still slung over her shoulder. "Your brother stole the rest of my stash. I was having a bit of a chocolate withdrawal."

"It's fine. Dean should know better than to mess with a woman's stash."

"Okay," she said, wolfing down the rest of the bar even faster than Sam had ever seen Cas put away a cheeseburger. "What are we dealing with? Possession? Shifter? Is it-"

"No," Cas interrupted her quietly, though his voice somehow sounded louder than all other sound in the room. "Dean...has become a demon."

"_What?_" Merry was the one to finally ask after several moments of shocked silence. "How...how could that happen?"

"Something called the Mark of Cain," Sam took up the explanation. "He let it be transferred to him so he could defeat Abaddon, but...it...the Mark inspires bloodlust. He was becoming a killer. When he was killed in a fight with Metatron...the Mark wouldn't let him go. He was resurrected as a demon."

"Oh, God," Elaine muttered, rubbing at her forehead in frustration. "Something like that...I can't even _imagine_...Sam...I'm so sorry. Dean is...was...I-"

"It's all right, Elaine. We haven't given up on him just yet."

"But...if he's a _demon-_" Merry started to argue.

"There might be a way of curing demons. We don't know if it'll work. We just need to capture him first."

"What can we do to help?" Elaine asked, finally shrugging off her shock.

"Well...right now, all we can do is hope he makes good on the threat to come back. Any ideas on why he might be after you?" Sam asked, setting down his bags and moving around the room to check the traps they'd set.

"No. We hadn't heard from him in a few years. We were coming back to the car after sealing one of the water nexae. I was putting my seatbelt on and suddenly there's a blade across my neck and he's whispering in my ear."

"What did he say to you?" Sam asked.

"He said...'Hey there, devil girl. Miss me?' I didn't get what was happening at first. I couldn't see his face. Merry was the one to notice the eyes," she said, looking to her sister as she shook herself, as if shaking off the memory.

"I burned him with holy fire...but he promised he'd be back before skipping out," the younger twin said as she went to her sister, laying a hand on her shoulder.

"Could it be...because of my old mark...that he's coming after us?" Elaine asked.

"Might be a start, but it's definitely not the whole story, love," a new voice suddenly entered the room. Every eyeball in the room snapped in its direction to see Crowley standing in their midst.

Immediately, they were all on alert, pointing various weapons at him. Crowley just laughed, keeping his eyes fixed on Elaine as he moved toward her. "I like this one...little girl with a big gun. Can you even fire that thing, lovely Elaine?"

"Keep walkin' and you'll find out," she challenged, aiming the rifle right between his eyes. Again, the King of Hell just laughed.

"Charming, charming, missy hunter, but I didn't come here tonight to make a mess."

"What are you doing here, Crowley? Where's Dean?" Sam demanded.

"Honestly? No idea. Your brother's sort of gone AWOL. Figures, doesn't it. Not two months after getting rid of Abaddon, I've got another pretender to the throne on my hands."

"Dean...wants to take over Hell?" Cas asked, a look of pain in his eyes.

"That's right. Bastard buggered off after giving me a giant 'fuck you.' Ironic thing is, if I'm understanding his thinking correctly...he's doing it all for _you_...the mother of his child."

"Wait. What?" Merry asked, gaze shifting between Cas and Crowley. "What was that again?"

"Oh, sorry. Was that a secret?" he asked, looking around at all of them with a knowing grin on his face.

"You didn't tell _him_...did you?" Cas asked, glaring at the demon.

"No. It's definitely in everyone's best interest if Squirrel remains ignorant of that fact for the moment. What I _really_ came for is to get the last two Powerpuff Girls off their lazy arses and bloody do something about this image problem I'm having."

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked.

"Well, Moose, it's like this. Dean's been going 'round the country trying to make deals with hunters. Only trouble is, none of them will deal, so he's just killing them."

"_Why?_" Cas asked, feeling something awful clawing at his heart.

"My guess? He's trying to rebuild the Knights of Hell, only he'd prefer to have people he knows are on his side, so he aims to make his own demons. That was probably his intent in trying to take you, devil girl...to make a deal with you," he said to Elaine. "But if anybody's going to make a deal with _you_, lovely Elaine, it's going to be _me_," he said, moving toward her until his face was less than an inch from the barrel of the gun.

"Yeah? Why's that?" she asked, the strain of keeping herself from shaking visible on her face.

"Oh, the stories I could tell you and your sister. Though...I don't suppose that's what we're here to talk about. Dean Winchester's the topic of conversation tonight. Any actual plans for catching our little wayward demon aside from these painfully obvious devil traps?"

"Yeah. How 'bout a nice juicy slab of hunter meat," Dean suggested as he walked through the front door. The three hunters and the angel instantly switched targets from Crowley to Dean.

"And the sodding idiot actually walks right into the middle of the painfully obvious devil trap," Crowley said as he rolled his eyes. "You know, I'm not sure whether to be fearful or offended that they find you a greater threat than me."

"It's 'cuz they know the boss man when they see him."

"Dean?" Sam started quietly. The demon took several moments to actually acknowledge him.

"Oh, Sammy, I didn't see you over there, little bro. How's it hangin'?"

"Dean...what do you want with Elaine? Why are you trying to hurt her?" the younger Winchester asked, struggling to maintain his composure as he kept Ruby's knife trained on him.

"It's not gonna hurt anymore than she wants it to. That depends on her," he said, shifting his gaze to the redheaded hunter as he paced back and forth within the confines of the small circle. "It's about time she stopped resisting being dragged to Hell."

"Hey, no. Elaine Serra is _mine_," Crowley insisted. "There's no way I put in all the work and you just show up at the last minute and take her for yourself. Besides, I'm not seeing what you think you can do from in there."

Dean shook his head as he drew the First Blade. "Oh, Crowley, I thought you knew better by now than to underestimate me. Wanna see my new trick?" he asked with a grin. Then he vanished, right along with Elaine and Merry.

"What- just happened?" Sam demanded in shock. "The trap was good. Nothing damaged it. He shouldn't have been able to get out. What the _hell happened?_"

"You're looking at me?" Crowley snapped. "I don't want him to get out anymore than you do. I couldn't name _half_ the shit this punk could pull now."

"Sam...I don't think he _did_ get out," Cas said quietly as he sensed out the differing energies in the cabin, following them along their fault lines to their terminations.

"Where is he then?"

"He's still in the trap. He's just tapped into a pocket dimension...and taken the twins with him," Cas explained.

"He can _do_ that?" Sam asked, gaze shifting between Cas and Crowley. "Since when can demons do that?"

"You don't know the half of it," Crowley said with a groan.

"Well...how the fuck do we bust this pocket dimension? Who knows what he could be doing to them," Sam said, fearing for the girls' safety. If Dean had already killed other hunters, nothing was holding him back now.

A sly grin slid across Crowley's face at this. "Well...maybe our little angel can produce us a miracle."

"What are you talking about?" Cas asked, eyeing the demon king distrustfully out of the corner of his eye.

"Your little monster, Castiel. That thing restored your grace. What do you think it's doing for its other father?"

"Cas?" Sam asked, glancing toward him with uncertainty in his eyes.

"I...I don't know," the angel said, looking down at himself with an unidentifiable feeling in his chest. "Maybe-"

"Crowley!" yet another voice cried out as its owner entered the cabin, angel blade drawn.

Hannah.

"Jesus Christ!" the King of Hell snarled. "If Keystone, Colorado ain't the fucking place to be tonight. What is it now?!"

"I need that gun of yours, demon," Hannah declared. "Hand it over and I won't have to use this."

The demon, the angel, and the human all offered her confused looks at this.

"The bloody hell do you want the gun for?" Crowley asked, still not taking her seriously. "Didn't make you for the heat type, darling."

For a moment, Hannah's worried gaze shifted between Crowley and Cas, but then she shook her head, refocusing herself on Crowley. "That's none of your affair. What I do is for the good of everyone."

"Hannah...what are you doing?" Cas asked her. The wild look she'd had about her during their last encounter hadn't dissipated any. She was an angel on the edge and he feared what she might be capable of doing.

"Saving your life, Castiel. Don't interfere."

"Oh, I might just give you the gun...but only if you tell us what it is you're so anxious to accomplish here," Crowley said, drawing the gun from its holster. "So angel...what's it going to be?"

XxX

When Elaine finally managed to shake herself awake, she found herself tied to a chair in the middle of the cabin, completely alone.

"Hey!" she shouted into the darkness, struggling in vain to free herself. "What is this? Where the hell is everybody?"

"Nowhere they don't need to be," Dean explained as he appeared to her out of the darkness. "Same with the two of us."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" she snapped at him. "Where's my sister? What did you do with her?!"

"She'll be here when she needs to be here," he said as he came to kneel before her. "That depends on you."

"You said that before. What does that mean?" she asked.

"I guess that little bitch king of Hell told you all I've been goin' around tryin' to collect hunters. Don't suppose he got around to mentionin' _why_ I'm doin' it."

"No. I'm not sure he knows. Why _are_ you doing this? The Dean Winchester I knew wouldn't just go around hurting fellow hunters for no reason."

"Yeah, well, the Dean Winchester you knew is dead. Living killed him...just like it kills every other sucker on this planet," he said, taking out his strange blade again and laying it against her inner thigh. "Plus, it's not 'no reason'."

"Okay...what is the reason?" she asked.

"The reason is I'm sick of all this bullshit. Heaven, Hell, humanity, any other disgusting thing in between...all those bastards can do is use me, and my whole damn life I thought I owed 'em somethin'. Well...I decided we're not gonna do this anymore. This system doesn't work. Heaven keeps screwin' us over, so we'll see what we can do with Hell. I'm kickin' Crowley out on his ass. If that works out...we'll see what we can do with Heaven and Earth," he explained, cutting through the fabric of her jeans, pressing against the skin with the blade.

"But...Dean...doing that won't make anything better. Look at yourself! You've already turned into something you're not."

"And it was worth it!" he hissed at her, cutting the skin and sneering when she cried out in pain. "Got rid of my only real rival for the Pit, and it gave Angelface time to put Megatron away. Nobody's gonna stop me and nobody's gonna hurt Sammy or Castiel again without my say so. I'm not seein' the downside here, Elaine."

"_They'll_ stop you. Sam and Castiel will. I _know_ Sam and he's not going to let this happen," she snarled at him.

"Those two losers? Nah. They're nothin' without me. They both fell apart when I died. They can't get by without me."

"So why don't you _kill them?_" she suggested callously, knowing the risk she was taking, but needing to see what his reaction would be. "If you're in it for yourself now, aren't they going to hold you back?"

Dean laughed at this. "Why don't I kill 'em? Well...the answer to that one's pretty simple," he said just before slashing the blade across her stomach. Elaine shrieked in pain as her blood splashed onto Dean's chest.

"I don't want to. That's the answer to your question, so don't bother askin' again. That's all you need to know."

"Fuck you, Dean Winchester," she groaned through her labored breathing. "I really...like this shirt."

"And you don't have to lose it if you deal with me_," _he said, trailing his fingers through the blood flowing from her stomach, tracing lines down to the waistline of her jeans. He ran a finger along the line several times before yanking down the zipper. "Feelin' ready to talk?"

"Demon _pig!_" she growled before spitting in his face. "And people wonder why I don't sleep with men."

"You don't wanna go down that road with me, sweetheart," he said as he wiped the spit from his face. "So if you don't feel up to talkin', you can just listen. I think your sister'd appreciate it," he said, and the very next moment, Merry was sitting in a chair across from them, bound and unconscious.

"_Merry!_" she shouted. No response. "Damn it. What did you do to her?"

"Nothin', but she's not gonna wake up 'til we need her to. So you gonna listen?"

Elaine's only response was to glare silently at the demon.

"Good. 'Cuz all I gotta say is...how do you _know_ takin' over won't make things better? You and Merry have been screwed over pretty bad by the will of Heaven. Lettin' the two of you get brought into the world on a demon's deal just for you to be handed over like you were nothin'. I know how that eats at you, Elaine...always left feelin' like you're somehow _less_ than your sister...like you gotta die so she can live. All I'm sayin' is...why not _change_ that world that fucked you over so bad, huh? If anybody should get what I'm tryin' to do here, it's you. Where's it written that we gotta lay down and die for this perfect world order? Change this world with me, Elaine. Make a deal with me and I can give you the power of a Knight of Hell. You can have this power, too. We can gather others like us and together we can turn this God damn shit hole around. What do you say, Serra?"

For several moments, all Elaine could manage was to stare at Dean in silence. This was neither the time nor the place to admit it to him, but what he'd said had gotten to her...even if it was only in the tiniest of ways. Now wasn't the time to admit to her own failings, though. Now was the time when she had to be strong.

"So...let me see if I'm understanding you. You want me to become the thing that killed my parents? The thing I've sworn my life to destroy? That marked me for life? Am I hearing you right?"

"My God, you sound just like me."

"Gonna have to take a pass on that one, Dean. I am not going to make a deal with you and I am not going to let you turn me into a demon. You can kill me if you want, but you're not getting anything out of me."

The demon shook his head slowly as he got to his feet. "That's really too bad. I always thought Merry had a real pretty face."

"What are you going to do?" Elaine asked as he moved away from her...toward her sister.

"Heh, funny. Seems like everybody's been askin' me that these last few weeks. The fuck do you _think_ I'm gonna do?" he challenged as he used his blade to slice open Merry's shirt and bra. Then he set the blade in her lap and moved around behind her so Elaine could see exactly what he was doing.

The demon moved his hands down the front of her body, taking the time to fondle her breasts. Then those hands moved lower, ripping open the zipper on Merry's pants, just as he'd done with her.

"Stop it," Elaine snarled quietly.

"Y'know, your sister did always think I was hot. Guess sweet little Merry wouldn't mind this too much," Dean said as he pressed his lips to Merry's neck, ravishing it as he slipped his hands into her pants. All the while, the younger twin remained completely out of it.

"I said _stop it!_" Elaine screamed at him. "Dean, I swear, if you hurt my sister, Sam's not gonna get a crack at you, 'cuz I'll kill you myself! Do you hear me, Winchester?! _I'll kill you!_"

Dean didn't say anything. He just leered at her as Merry slowly blinked awake...and as the horrified realization began to dawn in her twin's eyes, Elaine was afraid she might have already lost. She didn't know how long she could bear to see her sister suffering like this.

"Elaine..._help me._"

XxX


	4. Blood of the Enemy

(A/N) Happy Thanksgiving week to all! Seeing as how it's a holiday week, I think I will post two chapters this week, one now and one tomorrow night. I've actually got several chapters already written, but the story isn't finished just yet, so right now my plan is to post at least one chapter a week. Once I get it done, I'll start posting a bit more frequently. So without further ado, I give you...

**The Rose of Sharon**

_Chapter 4: Blood of the Enemy_

"My business is my own, Crowley," Hannah stated, keeping her angel blade firmly trained on the King of Hell. "I'm not going to ask again."

"No, Hannah, if you claim you're trying to save my life, that makes it my business," Cas interrupted her, moving a little closer. "Just what do you think you're trying to do?"

"Castiel, please-"

"No!" he snapped at her, moving to stand between her and Crowley. "I won't let you hurt others for my sake...even if they _are_ demons," he said, briefly glancing over his shoulder to see Crowley roll his eyes. "What is it you think you can do to save me? Where did you get this information?"

"There's someone who can help you. Metatron told me of an angel-"

"Hannah, could you possibly be more foolish?" Cas demanded. He would have moved forward to grab her shoulders were it not for the angel blade. "How can you believe a word out of his mouth?"

"I have to _try_, Castiel."

"Who is this angel anyway?" Crowley asked, leaning to the side to look past Cas. "What sort of angel could possibly handle a situation like this?"

"Metatron says she is called...Israfil."

"Israfil? I don't know this angel," Cas said quietly. Granted, he wasn't so arrogant as to think he knew _every_ angel, but that name just didn't ring any bells for him.

"The Burning One," Crowley supplied. "Very auspicious name for an angel. So who is she?"

"The fifth archangel. She was punished long ago by being erased from living memory. No one knows of her because it's as if she never existed. She is imprisoned in flame, but there is a ritual that can be used to call her back into existence."

"What ritual?" Cas demanded. "Hannah, for all you know, this could be a spell to break Metatron out of prison. What do you think happened to _me_ last time I trusted to one of his spells. This will only end in pain for you. _What ritual?_"

"No," she hissed, though her vessel's hands were beginning to shake. "I've said too much already. I am prepared to accept harm to myself for your sake. I will tell you nothing."

"Then you leave me no choice, Hannah," Cas said. Faster than any of them could track, he'd reached forward and seized the side of her head. Without even trying, he was able to break into her thoughts.

"_There __**must**__ be a way to stop this from happening!"_

"_Interesting that you believe there's somehow a precedence for this, even though, supposedly, nothing like it has ever happened before."_

_**In Heaven a spirit doth dwell**_

_**Whose heart-strings are a lute...**_

"_The Burning One..."_

"_That was her punishment: oblivion..."_

"_Israfil fell in love with a human, just like our Castiel...an abomination was conceived..."_

"_She exists in every flame that ever has been or ever will be..."_

"_**The Burning One...**__"_

_**None sing so wildly well**_

_**As the angel Israfil...**_

"_In order to reverse God's decree...the blessing of a demon lord...a handful of fairy dust...the heart of a desperate child...the perfect height of faith, hatred, and love...the trust of one who is not yet a mother...a ring of perfectly mirrored hunters' blood...the flesh of a mother whose circle is unbroken..."_

"NO! _Stop it!_" Cas suddenly heard Hannah screaming. With a cry of pain of his own, he pulled back from her, drawing up his angel blade to meet the blow he'd anticipated in her mind. The blade was not aimed at his head or his heart, but his stomach...at the baby. As Castiel gazed at her across the two crossed blades, he could feel his being thrumming with holy power.

"It will pain me very much to harm you, Hannah, but as I have said, I will protect my child..._no matter what it takes!_" he roared at her, his eyes glowing blue with holy light.

Hannah tried once more to strike, but Castiel didn't even need to block her this time. The sacred aura had surrounded the angel with an energy field which stopped her blade a full foot away from him, easily shattering it. The holy light was already bright enough to illuminate the entire cabin and it seemed it would only get stronger. Castiel was fairly sparking with power.

"Moose?" Crowley called nervously to Sam as he watched the unnerving display of power. "This would be a very good place not to be right now."

"_Cas! NO!_" Sam shouted, desperately trying to get through to the angel before he could unleash the devastating amount of power. At this rate, he'd easily end up taking out half the Rocky Mountains.

"_HANNAH!_" Castiel screamed. He couldn't contain this power for much longer.

"Hannah, get out of here now! _Go!_" Sam shouted at her, but she couldn't. She was incapable of tearing herself away. All she could do was gaze on the conflagration in awe and horror.

XxX

Elaine's throat was raw from screaming. She was screaming enough for both her and Merry, who had stopped crying out what felt like hours ago. After Dean had had his fill of molesting the younger twin, he had moved on to cutting her and breaking her bones. She hadn't spoken or made any sound in so long and she lay so still in the chair, held up only by the ropes that bound her. Elaine might have been afraid she was dead already were it not for the slight rise and fall of her chest. Merry had stopped resisting and Elaine wasn't certain how much longer the demon could keep himself amused with her.

"You know what?" Dean started as he carved a new line across Merry's breasts. "This is gettin' kinda old. I think I might have to start pullin' in the more permanent shit."

"What you've done to her already isn't permanent enough?!" Elaine snarled, still struggling against her bindings. She'd scraped her skin raw trying to get free, but she hardly even felt it. The only thing that mattered to her was saving her sister.

"No. She'll be hurtin' for a good while, but she can still walk away. I'm gonna have to do somethin' about that," he said as he moved behind Merry. Elaine couldn't see what he was doing, but she was all the more frightened for this.

Dean sneered when he lifted up the back of the girl's torn shirt, running a hand over the tattoo at the base of her spine.

"Oh, Merry...an anti-possession tramp stamp? That's hot," he whispered to her right before thrusting the First Blade straight through it.

Merry couldn't help but scream as the base of her spinal column was obliterated. She jerked violently and then fell still, her breathing shallow and shaky.

"No! Stop! _No more!_" Elaine finally cried out. "I'll deal. I'll make a deal. I'll do whatever you want, just stop hurting her!"

"Ah, finally gettin' somewhere," Dean said as he moved away from Merry.

"No..._don't!_" Merry called out faintly. "Doing this won't make _anything_ better...Elaine..."

"But I can't let you die," Elaine whispered as tears poured down her face. "You wouldn't let me go eight years ago...I can't quit on you now."

"Elaine...no..."

"What do I have to do?" Elaine asked, shutting out her twin's desperate cries.

"It's easy enough. You just ask me to save your sister...and in return, you become one of mine...a Knight of Hell...a demon. Are you ready for that?"

Elaine nodded slowly as she met his gaze. "Do it."

"Do what, Elaine?" he asked as he took her chin in his hand, forcing her head back.

"Save my sister's life...and I'm yours."

"We have a deal, then," Dean said, leaning down to kiss her...but just before he could, he flinched, sensing the changing energy in the space. Growling, he pulled back from Elaine, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Unfortunately, it looks like we're gonna have to pick this back up in a minute or two. The spot we're standing in's about to be blown sky high," he explained before vanishing.

XxX

Sam Winchester was very much aware that most people had only a handful of experiences with the divine in their lives, if even that. The jury was still out on whether he was fortunate or unfortunate to have a great deal more than that handful of experiences. He'd been face to face with it all his life, really, and he'd been face to face with the kind of power Castiel could wield many times before tonight, but it hadn't been until this night that he'd truly understood the beauty and terror contained in holy light.

Castiel had become a blazing star, but as divine as that light was, there was also something different about it...something dark and burning. Sam knew he'd more than likely burn up if he didn't look away soon, and even then...well, he also knew he couldn't allow this power to be set free. More than the damage it would do, Cas would hate himself if he killed Hannah. So, adding to the list of completely stupid and life-threatening things attempted by Sam Winchester, the hunter stepped forward and laid a hand on the angel's shoulder. He cried out in pain as he felt the holy fire sear his flesh to the bone, but he didn't let go. He heard Crowley shouting somewhere behind him, but he paid him no mind.

"Cas...come on!" he tried to call out to him. "You can't do this! You've gotta stop! _Wake up!_"

Sam wasn't sure how much longer he would have lasted at that rate. Before he could really take time to assess his situation, though, the darkness radiating from the heart of Cas' light suddenly magnified, washing over him in a thick, cloying wave. The darkness wasn't just coming from Cas, though. The new presence was right there with them, visible only as a shadow in the blinding light.

"Hey, Angelface! Wanna tone it down a little? Some of us are tryin' to work here!"

In the moments before he lost consciousness, Sam squinted painfully through the blaze of light...and for an instant, he could see Dean's true face, rotting and enmeshed with dark power...but then everything was gone. When he finally woke up again, he found Crowley leaning over him.

"Oh, good, you're not dead. For a minute I thought the pair of them really had it in for you."

"Cas...Cas...what happened? Where's Cas?" he pressed as he struggled to sit up. Crowley gently pushed him back down, though.

"No, no, no, Moosey. Don't push it. Your soul's fragile right now. Any longer standing between the two of them and you'd have been ripped in half."

"I...I thought I saw Dean," Sam groaned, only just then beginning to feel the pain Crowley was talking about.

"You did. That was him. With the two of them together, we just about had ourselves a new Big Bang. They're gone now."

"What about Hannah?" he asked, closing his eyes against the sudden spinning of the world.

"Also gone...and with one less gun than she'd been expecting, I might add," he said.

"Where...where are they?"

"Here...but not here. Mummy and Daddy are having a chat. The kiddies don't get to listen."

"Is there any way to-"

Before Sam could finish the question, he turned his head to the side and promptly threw up. Even though he couldn't see what was happening, he couldn't quite help the grin when he heard the King of Hell cry out in disgust.

"And adding to the great big book of Winchester firsts, having a holy fire hungover hunter lose his lunch all over your favorite boots."

XxX

Castiel hadn't been fully aware of what was happening until he'd suddenly felt Dean's presence beside him. He felt the burn of the demon's hand on his shoulder...felt the massive amount of power he'd raised start to flow toward him...to equalize between them.

"Dean?" he whispered, almost frightened to look back at him.

"Hey, there, pretty angel. Wanna share some of that juice with me?"

Castiel felt his breath catch in his throat at the intimate press of their two auras...but then he suddenly saw Hannah cowering before him...felt Sam's soul flaying at his back...and he understood what was about to happen.

"Oh, God."

With that, Dean pulled him away. The angelic fire dissipated into the ether as they shifted locations, leaving Cas to collapse to his knees in the seemingly empty cabin, breathing heavily.

"Damn, Angelface, that hit was almost better than the Blade. Maybe we should fuck more often if that's the result," Dean said as he moved around in front of him.

"Sam?" Cas demanded as he struggled to his feet. "What happened to Sam? Is he all right?"

"Stop whining; he'll live. You and me just roughed him up a bit. The bitch king's babysittin' him 'til we're finished talkin'."

"Where are the twins? What did you do with them?" Cas asked.

"Heh, watch this. You're gonna love this," Dean said as he waved a hand. Then, with a crack and a hiss, the two girls appeared, bound to chairs and bloody.

"Dean!" Cas cried out in shock as he moved toward Elaine. "Dean, what have you done?" he demanded as he knelt to examine the slash wound on the girl's stomach.

"N-no," Elaine murmured, slowly shaking her head. "'m fine. Help Merry."

Cas stood, slowly turning to look at the younger twin, tied to the chair just behind Dean. Certainly she was worse off, bloody and badly beaten. If Dean didn't allow him to heal her, she might not last much longer.

"Why are you doing this, Dean?" he asked him as he moved around Merry, shuddering at the sight of the injury to her spine. Unable to help himself, he reached forward to try and heal her.

"Don't even think about it," Dean snapped at him. "You try to heal her, I'll just kill her."

"_No!_" Elaine shouted, once again struggling against the ropes. "We have a _deal,_ dammit!"

"And that deal can easily be changed to raisin' Merry from the dead instead of just healin' her. So keep quiet and let the grown ups talk, baby Serra," Dean growled over his shoulder, keeping his attention focused on Cas.

"Dean..._why?_" Cas tried again, reaching for Merry's hand out of Dean's sight, shocked but relieved when he felt the faintly returned pressure of her fingers. "Why would you do this?"

"Why, Castiel? For _you_."

For a moment, Cas couldn't breathe. All he could manage to do was stare at Dean in shock. This was different from hearing Crowley suggest that Dean was going around murdering hunters in his name. This was actually hearing it from his own mouth...hearing that he was doing these awful things for _him._

"What...what are you talking about?" he asked, slowly moving to stand in front of Merry.

"I'm talkin' about Team Free Will finally turnin' shit around. I know you're not gonna stand there and tell me you're not damn sick of waitin' for the next disaster to fall from Heaven or spring up out of Hell. Isn't it about time we _did_ somethin' about it? Seriously, how much shit did we get handed by these bitches?" the demon pointed out as he moved closer to the angel. Cas was at once repelled and drawn by his closeness, _wanting_ to be closer, but _knowing_ how dangerous it was.

"Maybe...maybe so," he admitted. He knew he had thought similarly once before...when he'd tried to become God and usurp the will of Heaven because he was tired of his brothers always hurting the man he loved. "But Dean...this _isn't_ the way. Believe me, I know. I tried to take over once before. I nearly wound up getting us all killed. It will go no differently if you do this. Please, stop now. Come back. You don't have to do this!" Cas pleaded with him, reaching out to grab his wrist. Dean just sneered at him a moment, drawing him closer.

"No, I really think I do. Things'll be different. We're not gonna go crazy this time. We'll start with Hell and...see how it goes."

"We?"

"Yeah," Dean said, as if that fact should have been obvious. "Now that I've had a fucking taste, I'm not gonna let you go so easy. We're gonna rule in Hell together. We'll make things the way we want 'em to be. No more of this will of Heaven bullshit."

"Dean, we can't-"

"What? You don't wanna be with me, Angelface? Can't stand to look at me anymore?" They were mere inches apart now, Dean's breath hot against his lips. Cas could feel himself start to tremble as Dean pulled him into his arms.

"No," Cas whispered, turning away as Dean leaned down to kiss his neck. "It isn't that. I _do_ want to be with you. That's all I want, but you're not _you_ right now. What can I say to make you _listen?_" he asked, crying out softly at the end when the demon bit into the tender flesh of his throat.

"Nothin'," he said as he backed away, a few drops of blood on his lips. "You've been doin' the talkin' for a good while now, so maybe _you_ should listen. I'm doin' this _my way_ now. Stay out of it and you won't get hurt. I'll bring you Hell on a fuckin' silver platter, Castiel. Just don't try to stop me."

"I _must_, Dean. Not by the will of Heaven, but by my own. I _will not_ allow this to happen. I _will_ raise you again...and if I must give all that I am in order to do that, so be it. I _will_ have you back."

Dean laughed quietly at this. "You keep sayin' that, but what are you actually gonna _do_ about it? Y'know, I think you secretly _want_ this; you just can't admit it. After all, it's like they say...Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven."

Cas didn't say anything to this. He just moved forward, pulling Dean into his arms, just as the demon had done earlier. Then he whispered in his ear, "I'm sorry, Dean."

In the moments when Cas was pulling away from him, time almost seemed to slow for Dean. As the angel moved to the side, revealing Merry crawling across the floor with only one arm, dragging her useless legs behind her, Dean realized that Castiel must have slipped her his angel blade before, allowing her to cut herself free. He only had a moment to feel proud and angry at the underhanded tactic before the younger twin aimed her pistol at him.

"Fer pacem agnis perditis. Dona requiem dentibus lupi et voca malleum mortis Diabolo te iubeo!" she snarled as she fired. The demon cried out in pain when the bullet struck his shoulder, feeling an unbearable fire spreading throughout his being. Growling low in his throat, he turned to glare at Castiel.

"Don't think I'll forget this, angel. She's gonna pay for it...and I'll be back for Elaine and Sam."

Then Dean was gone and the pocket dimension was collapsing around them, leaving the twins and the angel to slip back into the reality they'd first come from.

Cas found himself standing in the same spot Dean had pulled him from. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Merry collapse to the floor, completely unmoving. She was his first priority. Moving quickly to her side, he knelt beside her and rolled her onto her back, quickly pressing his fingers to her forehead and allowing the healing energy to move through her body. She gave a sharp gasp as her eyes shot open, her injuries completely healed.

"Is she all right?" the angel heard Elaine's voice from somewhere behind him. Before he could answer, Merry was sitting up, calling out to her.

"Elaine! Elaine, are you okay? What did he do to you?" she demanded as she hurried over to her sister, who had fallen near to where Sam was lying.

"Me? What did he do to _me?_" Elaine hissed incredulously as she looked her sister over.

"He did nothing," Cas explained gently as he moved over to them, laying a hand to the wound in Elain's stomach and easily healing it. "His deal was not completed."

"Cas...what happened in there?" Sam asked, only then drawing Cas' attention to the state he was in. He was lying flat on his back and as far as the angel could tell, his eyes couldn't seem to focus on anything. His skin was pale and soaked with sweat. It wouldn't have been noticeable to a human, but there was a slight trembling to his being - not something of the body, but of the soul.

"Sam, what...what did we do?" Cas asked as he shifted a hand over to the hunter, searching for something he might do to help.

"It isn't something you can heal," Crowley warned him from where he stood at the far side of the cabin. "It's his spiritual energy...his _soul._"

"What happened?" Cas pressed.

"You and lover boy just about shredded him, the amount of power you had going between you. The soul's unstable right now and if I had to guess, I'd say it either passes...or it doesn't. You _can't_ fix this," Crowley said, sneering down at him.

Cas knew the demon's words were true, but even as he felt despair rise up inside of him, he also felt the thrum of something more. It was the flicker of dark light he carried inside of him, he realized with a quiet gasp. Acting on an instinct he didn't fully understand, he reached for Sam's hand, guiding it to rest against his belly.

"Cas...what are you..." Sam tried to ask, but fell silent when his hand came into contact with Cas' stomach. The angel knew without having to ask that Sam was feeling the same flicker he was. The energy that flowed from him wasn't perfectly visible. It was more like the suggestion of an image against the air: a pale white flame threaded through with veins of darkness. It didn't feel like much, but as the energy flickered between the two of them, Sam's skin began to return to its normal color and the trembling slowly came to a stop.

"What...what's happening?" Sam asked slowly, eyes gradually starting to focus on his and Cas' hands.

"I'm not sure. I'm not doing this," Cas said, starting to worry that if this energy really was coming from his child...what effect it might be having on her.

"Well, bollocks," Crowley muttered as he watched the scene unfold. "You've got to be bloody kidding me."

By the time the strange flickering of energy had settled between the two of them, Cas fell back in amazement and Sam immediately sat up, staring at the angel in mild awe.

"What the hell was that?" Sam asked.

"Oh, I don't think Hell had anything to do with it," Crowley said snidely as he moved closer to the small group. "That was the angelic side of the little monster's power."

"But...no angel could have done anything like that," Cas muttered in shock, hand rubbing absently at his belly. "I do not understand...I don't know how...I'm not..."

"Not very eloquent, apparently," the King of Hell said with a sneer. "Even if healing's the only power the beastie has, it'll be reason enough for others to covet it."

"Okay, what's all this talk about a baby?" Elaine finally asked.

"Is it safe to talk about that here?" Sam asked, gaze shifting between Cas and Crowley. "I mean...Dean might still be around."

"He isn't. The devil trap's been broken," Merry pointed out. "Plus, I shot him with a gospel bullet, so he definitely had to run off to lick his wounds."

"What was that...by the way?" Cas asked faintly, gaze briefly alighting on the younger twin. "That weapon...and the prayer..."

"Nothing I'm gonna talk about with him in the room," Merry said, glaring at Crowley. "I'm sure he'd _love_ to learn how that bullet works."

"First question still stands," Elaine interrupted. "Baby?"

"Dean...took advantage of Cas...when he was first turned," Sam explained, moving to kneel beside Cas, hoping to snap him out of whatever funk he'd fallen into.

"We're not entirely certain how it happened...but Dean and I...conceived a child that night," Cas said, not really looking at any of them as he spoke. Every time his thoughts wandered back to that night in the motel, he found himself even more torn between horror and wonder than he already had been.

For a moment, the twins just looked shocked. Elaine was the one to finally get her head together and say, "I suppose we can just chalk the impossibility of that statement up to angel mojo. If I'm following this conversation correctly...Dean doesn't know about this?"

"No. I'm not certain what he would do if he were to find out," Cas said, still staring blankly ahead.

"There's also the fact that whatever this kid is, it's clearly giving the two of them power," Sam added, placing a hand on Cas' shoulder while talking to the girls. "I think it's safe to assume the whole pocket dimension business was the result of the power boost Dean's getting. So far he probably just thinks it's a perk of being a Knight of Hell, but it probably won't be long before he starts to realize."

"And what sorts of effects have _you_ been seeing, Castiel?" Elaine asked him.

"Up until three weeks ago, he was dying," Sam answered when Cas did not. "He was just about out of grace after the situation with Metatron, but when the baby was conceived, it restored his stolen grace. Then there was this healing that shouldn't have been possible. We'll probably see more as we get further into the pregnancy."

"Meaning Dean's only going to keep getting stronger as well," Crowley pointed out with a sour expression on his face. "Just can't win with you Winchesters."

"This power is also probably what's going to allow him to recreate the Knights," Sam said slowly as the revelation washed over him. "Especially if he thinks he can twist people like you, Elaine."

"That would make sense," Cas said, slowly shaking himself out of the near trance he'd fallen into. "Creating a demon is a very...involved process. He seems to be under the impression he can just turn souls on a whim. Who knows? Maybe he can."

"That's what it sounded like...when he tried to make a deal with me just now. He would heal Merry of the...damage...he did to her, and in return my soul would be his. He said he would give me the power of a Knight of Hell. I would be one of his soldiers," Elaine said, her voice slowly trailing off as she recounted the ordeal she'd just been through. Without wasting any words, Merry pulled her sister into her arms, holding her tightly. Elaine hugged back just as fiercely.

"And that's exactly why this tosser's giving me an image problem," Crowley broke in. "This isn't how it's supposed to work, crap deal like this. Undoing damage _he's_ done and collecting a soul for practically nothing. Abaddon was just turning out meat shields, but Squirrel's actually bothering to mold fighters. This could be a major problem for all parties involved, that being basically _everyone_. Seems to me it would be in everyone's best interest if we were to...temporarily align with each other once again."

"And what happened the last time one of us was stupid enough to do that?" Sam snapped at the demon king. "That's what got us into this mess in the first place. Seems to _me_ it would serve you right if we just left you for Dean to find."

"Oh, let's not be talking about what any of us _deserve_, Moose. We'll be here forever. Only thing under discussion tonight is what we _need._ I need some insurance against my angel stalker and the freakin' Deanmon, and you need an in with Hell and as many demons on _my_ side as possible. I can give you that, and if all goes well, we'll capture the devil and undo this whole messy business. Get back to the way things _should_ be. What do you say?"

For a long while, Sam glared at Crowley. He didn't _want_ to agree to this, but Crowley had made several pertinent points. Ultimately, the younger Winchester turned to Castiel.

"Cas? It's your kid...so it's your call."

Cas had been staring at the demon for just as long, not quite glaring, but not really pleased either.

"I would like to kill you," he said, his voice strangely mild for such a statement. "You cannot imagine how dearly I would love to kill you. I would not be merciful either. I would stretch you out on your own rack and flay each atom a thousand years for every moment I have felt Dean's soul cry out in pain. I would have you _scream,_ Crowley, and I would smile at your suffering. _That_ is my bargain, demon...but it will have to wait, as we find ourselves in a position where Dean cannot be saved without your help. We will deal with you - for now. I believe you are aware of what will happen if you betray us before our time is done."

"Right then," Crowley said with a shrug, although they'd all seen the tiny flicker of fear in the demon's eyes. "Shall we seal with a kiss, love?"

"No. This isn't that kind of deal," Cas said firmly as he got to his feet. Sam and the twins were not far behind.

"Right, however...on the subject of my angel stalker, what was it you pulled from Hannah's head before you went ballistic? What's she trying to do? Just who is this Israfil?"

"Someone Metatron claims can stop my child from being born. There are seven items required to complete this ritual Hannah spoke of and each is given in the form of a riddle. She believes the answer to the first riddle is your gun."

"What was the riddle?" Sam asked.

"The first item is the blessing of a demon lord. Seemingly impossible, as demons cannot bless. Crowley, however, uses a weapon whose bullets are forged from consecrated metal - an angel blade. Therefore, the blessing of a demon lord."

"Makes a kind of sense," Elaine said slowly.

"Personally, I'm not inclined to trust in anything that comes out of Metatron's mouth. I don't know how much I believe this tale of a fifth archangel. More likely, this ritual will further the scribe's plan in some way. It would be best to find the other six items before Hannah is able to and keep them hidden from her," Cas said.

"So what are the other riddles?" Sam asked.

"That we can discuss once we return to the bunker. While the angels cannot fly to our location, Heaven is no doubt aware of the power I raised just now. They will not be able to ignore it. Someone will come to investigate. I don't know about the rest of you, but I would rather not be here when that happens," Cas told them.

"Definitely not," Sam agreed, turning his attention to the twins. "You two okay to follow us to Kansas? Probably best for us to stick together 'til we get this worked out."

"Sure thing," Merry said with a grin and a nod. Glancing at each other for a moment, the sisters quickly went to gather up their gear.

"So, lovely Elaine, what are you riding these days? Jeep? Accord? I loved that little Lexus you nicked down in New Orleans last Mardi Gras," Crowley started as he moved to follow the twins.

"Oh, no," Sam immediately interrupted, clapping a hand on Crowley's shoulder. "Like _hell_ am I leaving you alone with them. You're sticking with us."

"No mind," Crowley said with a sneer as Sam dragged him out the door. "We'll talk later, love. Maybe bond over a few drinks. My treat. I'll see what I can do about topping Squirrel's offer."

XxX

Dean hissed in pain as he collapsed to his knees several hundred miles away from the cabin in Keystone. He hardly noticed the First Blade slip from his hand as he clawed at his chest, trying to get Merry's bullet out. However, it didn't take him long to realize that there _was_ no bullet...at least, not anymore.

When he took the time to focus through the intense agony, he found that he'd been shot with a silver bullet, and that the slug had somehow _melted_ on impact. The molten silver was now carrying the holy oil the bullet had been packed with throughout his veins, leaving him burning with holy fire.

"Good job, baby girl," he snarled as his insides scorched and slowly started to heal themselves. If he'd been any other demon, the shot just might have killed him. He'd have to find out where the Serra twins had gotten ahold of rounds like that and stop it at the source before Sam and Castiel could get their hands on them. Although, at this rate, he wasn't sure if the angel would even _need_ a weapon with the amount of power he'd displayed back there.

Dean chuckled to himself as he slowly sat up on the riverbank he'd come to rest beside. He hadn't had the chance to ask Castiel about those new powers. Somehow his grace had been restored and he was stronger than ever, just like _he_ was. Was it really just the result of the two of them fucking? Somehow he doubted it, but there was really only one way to be sure, he thought with a smirk. He certainly wouldn't mind getting the angel into bed again. Apart from it being the best damn sex he'd ever had, it was just such a fucking turn on to watch Castiel struggle _not_ to enjoy it...not to want Dean just as badly as he'd wanted him. If he happened to get an even greater power boost out of another sweet session, well, who was really complaining?

So Elaine was a bust for the moment. If she was going to be joining up with Team Free Will, he'd have to work on her later, maybe see if there was a more sensitive pressure point than her twin to work on. Whatever the case, he was not going to let Elaine Serra go like he had the others he'd already tried to deal with. He'd helped to shape the young woman's life in a way he couldn't claim with any other hunter. That and Elaine was already marked, only a few footsteps from Hell. She would make him the perfect soldier.

In the meantime, though, he'd have to focus on other candidates. He would need more fire power before going after Elaine again, or before he even _thought_ about touching Sammy, yet another hunter who was close to Hell. Besides that, it would be difficult to find a pressure point that was sensitive enough to twist with his little brother. He might have to find another way with him. He did have another redhead in mind; she'd just be a little more of a challenge to get to, as he wasn't sure of her pressure point. At this point, though, she was the best option, so he'd just have to improvise.

Dean picked up the First Blade once again as he got to his feet, shaking himself off to get rid of any lingering traces of divine fire in his system. Just out of the corner of his eye, he saw a wolf pack emerge from the forest, all of them eyeing him warily.

The demon locked eyes with the alpha for several moments, each of them sizing the other up. Even if the large black wolf couldn't completely understand, he knew the alpha could see what he was.

"Shoo," he snipped at them.

Letting out a warning howl to the rest of the forest, the alpha quickly led his pack away from the river, as far away from the demon as possible. Dean just laughed as he twirled the First Blade.

It was time for a little trip down the yellow brick road.

XxX

_He's running...running blindly...has no idea if he's running __**to**__ something...or __**away**__ from it. All he knows is fear...but fear of what? Fear for himself?_

_No._

_It's fear for his child. He cannot find her. __**Where is she?**_

_He can hear her helpless, heart-wrenching cries now as things start to become clearer. He's running through a rose garden...a maze of roses. Everywhere he looks, there are fountains of the garish red blooms and the scent of them fills his nose until it's almost nauseating. As he runs, snow begins to fall._

_"Where are you?!" he cries out in desperation. He can hear her...but no matter what he does, he cannot reach her._

_"You cannot save her, Castiel," a voice murmurs in his ear...a voice from long ago. "You will love and cherish her...but in the end, she will be laid bare for all the world to see."_

_"No!" he shouts as he falls to his knees in the snow. The world around him is becoming a blur of red and white. "This cannot happen! I have- to save her!"_

_"Go, pretty child, and bear this flower Unto thy little savior; And tell Her, by that bud now blown, She is the Rose of Sharon known."_

_As the angel struggles to rise from the snow, a strange vision begins to resolve itself from the blur. It's a rose...but this rose is white like the snow...and at its heart, a splash of red...like a drop of blood._

_The Rose of Sharon._

_"You will try to save her, like any parent would, but you cannot stop what's to come. The child has a destiny on her, and you can but guide her."_

_"The Rose of Sharon?" he whispers in confusion, reaching out to caress the delicate white petals._

_"Castiel, __**please.**__ I only wish to help you. I would not see this child perish. Where are you?"_

_"__**No!**__" he snarls, suddenly understanding as he pulls his hand away from the fragile flower. His fingers come away bloody...as if he's been stroking thorns instead of petals. "This isn't real. You're just trying to discern my location. Stay out of my head!"_

_"Go, pretty child, and bear this flower Unto thy little savior; And tell Her, by that bud now blown, She is the Rose of Sharon known," the voice repeats._

_"What do you mean?" he demands, pounding his bloody fists against the ground, leaving trails of red through the once white snow._

"Tell me!" Cas shouted aloud as he snapped awake from the nightmare, gaze darting furiously around the space.

"Whoa, Cas, calm down," Sam urged. When Cas saw his hand reaching toward him, he realized they were still in the car...still on the way back to the bunker.

"S-sorry," he managed to mutter as he wrapped his arms tightly around himself.

"Another nightmare?" Sam asked, voice sympathetic.

"Yes."

"Didn't sound particularly pleasant," Crowley chimed in from the back seat.

"It still isn't," the angel groaned, resisting the urge to turn around and put his blade through the demon's head. "It shouldn't be happening."

"More little beastie side effects, I'd wager. You're in for a glorious nine months. Can't say as I miss dreaming all that much," Crowley said as he thrust his legs up into the space between the two front seats.

"Seriously, man? Trying to drive here," Sam snapped at him.

"Yeah, well, Moose, I've survived the mutant Squirrel, so forgive me if you're somewhat _less_ intimidating by comparison," the demon said, making a great show of shifting his feet around.

"I would advise you move your feet if you do not wish a blade through them," Castiel warned quietly, his eyes glowing very briefly.

"You, on the other hand, are quite terrifying," Crowley readily admitted, immediately withdrawing his feet. "What's next, _Mum?_ No eating on the couch? No television until we finish our homework? No pie until we eat all our _brussels sprouts?_"

"Don't- don't acknowledge him, Cas. It's what he wants," Sam warned him. "We're only about ten minutes out anyway."

Ten minutes from home. If only things were ever so simple in their lives...but of course they weren't, and here we stand.

As the cars sped down the highway, a woman appeared in the middle of the road. She was far enough away that Sam and Elaine had time to stop, but close enough for them to know there was something off.

"An angel," Cas said quietly as he surveyed the woman. She was somewhat older for a vessel. Her long dark hair was greying, but he could see the true form that lay behind the withering flesh. Her green eyes flashed with celestial intent and the image of her torn wings stood out starkly against the light of the setting sun.

"Do you know her?" Sam asked.

"I'm not certain. This grace is familiar to me...but its bearer died a long time ago. I do not see how this can be her."

"Well...only one way to find out," Crowley said, nudging Cas' shoulder.

"Are you really suggesting he go out and face an angel like this when every last one of them wants him dead?" Sam asked, turning to glare at the demon.

"No, Sam. Crowley is right. There is only one way. If there is a need to remove this obstacle, I will do it," Cas said as he unbuckled his seat belt and opened the car door.

"Cas, be careful," Sam advised. "Dean'd kill me if I let anything happen to the two of you now."

"I will do what I must," he said before walking forward to meet this latest adversary, not in any way reassuring. The angel did nothing as he approached, just kept her hands hanging easily at her sides.

"Castiel," she said quietly once he was close enough.

"Lailah?" he returned uncertainly.

"Yes, little one. It's me," she said, reaching out a hand to touch his cheek. He didn't know why he allowed it. For all the familiarity he felt, there was no way this could be Lailah.

"It's just...not possible. You _died_...so long ago. I do not understand."

"I'll explain everything to you, Castiel, but the middle of a highway probably isn't the best place for a talk. We really ought to-"

"How?" Cas interrupted her harshly. "How did you find me? No angel should be able to track me."

"The Rose," she answered calmly as she trailed a hand from Cas' cheek down to his stomach. "The Rose of Sharon has called me here."

_The Rose of Sharon._

XxX


	5. Lullaby

(A/N) Happy Thanksgiving to all...and to all a happy holiday clusterfuck!

**The Rose of Sharon**

_Chapter 5: Lullaby_

"You," Castiel whispered in shock as he took several steps back from the angel who claimed to be Lailah. "It was _your_ voice I heard...in my dreams."

"Go, pretty child, and bear this flower Unto thy little savior; And tell Her, by that bud now blown, She is the Rose of Sharon known," the angel said quietly, still holding her hands out to show she meant no harm. "Yes, it was me. I've been trying to communicate with you, but the pattern of your dreaming is different from that of a human. It hasn't been easy."

"Well, whoever you are, why have you been trying to contact me?" he asked, holding a hand up behind him when he heard the others get out of the cars, letting them know to keep back.

"Castiel, it's me. I really am Lailah. I've been trying to reach you ever since the child was conceived."

"And how would you know about that?"

"If that question were anything more than a test, you would not ask. You _know_ I'm aware of every soul conceived on this planet at the moment of conception. I was aware of your daughter even in the moment of her making. I understand what's happening," she said, trying to take a step toward him, but he only moved further back.

"Even if I believed your claim, why should I trust you? There is no angel in all of creation who would want my child to be born. What is your aim in this?" he demanded, calling his angel blade to him.

"My aim is that I may well be the only other angel in all of creation who knows that she _must_ be born," she answered, summoning a blade of her own, but instead of attacking him with it, she laid it down on the road between them and backed off. "Perhaps now you will listen."

For a long while, Cas just stared suspiciously at her. When he finally spoke again, it was with a steely determination in his eyes.

"Prove it."

"What?"

"Prove to me you are who you say you are. We are hunted by angels and I'm not taking any chances with my child's safety. What is something only Lailah would know?" he pressed.

"That's easy enough. I remember when you were just a fledging, Castiel. I was mother to all of you in the absence of our Father. You were a curious little one...but so very quiet. I remember you had only one wish...a wish that was so dear to you. You wanted to be able to walk barefoot on grass...just like the humans did. Did you ever get to?" she asked him, a sad smile moving across her face.

"No...I don't think so," he said softly as he remembered the times she'd spoken of...it was all so long ago. "I...I'd forgotten. So much has happened..."

"Oh, Castiel, I've missed you. How I have missed _all_ of you," Lailah said, moving across the line that had been drawn between them by her discarded blade and pulling him into her arms. Cas returned the embrace without even thinking about it. As she held him close, he found himself amazed by the strength of the joy and warmth welling up from within him. It had been so long since something truly good had happened.

"Ima," he whispered against her.

_Mother..._

"Cas, who is this?" he heard Sam asking as the others approached, apparently having decided it was safe to do so when the two of them had embraced.

"She is Lailah," Cas began to explain without looking away from the older angel. "Her domain is conception and childbirth. She is a protector of children. She was the closest thing any angel knew to a mother...but she was supposed to have died a long time ago...back in the days of the pharaohs. She has yet to explain how she comes to be standing before us."

"I believe it is said in Heaven that the killing of the firstborn was too great a horror for me to bear. They say the sorrow of it killed me. Clearly that is not the case," she explained with a soft smile.

"But if it isn't...where have you been all this time? Have you really been hiding out on Earth? How is it no one's discovered you before now?" Cas continued to press.

"It was the one wish I asked of our Father. He granted it," she said solemnly. "While the murder of the firstborn didn't _kill_ me, it was something I couldn't live with. I was permitted to descend to Earth and live among the humans, forgotten."

"You weren't forgotten," Cas insisted. "We mourned you..._all_ of us. You were mother to us all."

A pained look crossed Lailah's face at this. "I know. I truly am sorry for abandoning Heaven, but I just couldn't bear such a hideous violation of my own nature. I've been living as a midwife all this time."

"But how have you been doing it?" Sam asked her. "How have you been living down here without anyone being the wiser? Some of the factions haven't been particularly nice about angels who turn their backs on Heaven," he said, glancing worriedly at Cas.

"No one would have reason to suspect I'm alive, for starters, and for another," she began as she lowered the neckline of her blouse to reveal a line of Enochian sigils tattooed across her breasts. "There is more protection than what your eyes can see."

"And what happened...after the Fall?" Cas asked her.

"You can see what happened. My wings were torn. I admit it's made me somewhat less effective, but I've continued my travels, helping new mothers in childbirth, watching over the unborn and the newborn. I would have been quite content to continue on as I was...but then I felt the conception of this little one," she said softly, reaching out a hand to press against Cas' stomach, "and I knew I had to come to you. Your child will need more protection than just the five of you can provide."

"Excuse me?" Crowley butted in at this. "Who said anything about protecting? King of Hell babysits for no one, love."

Lailah looked like she very much _wanted_ to roll her eyes, but resisted the urge...a mother who had _years_ of experience dealing with petulant children. "I know nothing of this nature has ever occurred before, but at the same time...I feel I have been in this situation before. I _knew_ I would be able to help you. Castiel...as I said earlier, your child _must_ be born. No one yet realizes it, but this is the transformation the realms have been waiting for. Everything will change."

"For better or for worse?" Elaine couldn't keep from asking.

"That I could not say. I only know that it must be."

"You said...you feel you've been in this situation before?" Cas heard himself asking, her words starting to blend with the information he'd drawn from Hannah last night. "Have you ever heard of an angel called...Israfil?"

A disquiet look came to Lailah's face at this. She brooded over the name for several moments before finally shaking her head, not in the negative, but in confusion. "My head tells me no...but my heart says otherwise. I feel a terrible ache of sorrow and regret at that name, even though I've never heard it before."

"I had thought...it might be a trick of Metatron's...a way for him to deceive Hannah into releasing him," Cas said, though he was less certain of that after seeing Lailah's reaction. Indeed, she shook her head at hearing his words.

"I don't believe so. While we can be certain anything that comes out of Metatron's mouth will only be to further his own plans, I do believe there is truth to whatever tale he's told Hannah. Whatever the case may be, I offer you my guidance and protection, to whatever end you should choose to use them."

"We would be glad of your help," Cas told her when he received no objection from the three hunters. Crowley just rolled his eyes.

"What is it about you, angel boy? No matter how many times you fail, you always seem to attract a following."

None of them would ever know what gave Elaine the courage to do it, but she smacked the King of Hell upside the head for that one. Instead of getting angry, though, he just turned back to smirk at her.

"Y'know, if you'd been anyone else, I would've snapped your spine by now. You've got pluck, lovely Elaine. I'll give you that much."

"Why do you keep doing that?" Sam was the one to finally ask the demon king.

"Doing what?" he returned, making a very poor show of playing innocent.

"Calling her that? Goading her? What's going on between the two of you?"

"Sorry, boys. A lady doesn't kiss and tell. Besides, Moose, you really think you and your brother are the only hunters I mess with? Bloody world doesn't revolve around you, you know. Self-centered much?"

"Jesus, forget I asked," Sam groaned, running a hand through his hair in exasperation, though _he_ certainly had no intention of forgetting he'd asked.

"Fascinating as this all is, does anyone else think maybe we should continue this conversation indoors?" Merry asked, glancing around at each of them.

"Right. Lailah, you're with us," Sam announced before heading back to his car.

"Really, Bullwinkle? You're going to make me sit in the back with the crazy old cat angel?" Crowley whinged as he followed the hunter back to the vehicle. Cas and Lailah exchanged a brief glance.

"He's not ever going to keep quiet, is he," the elder angel said with a sigh.

"No. No, he is not," Cas said, a note of irritation in his voice as the two of them followed the hunter and the demon back to the car.

XxX

Following her near smiting at Castiel's hands, Hannah decided it was probably better to have more of a plan for the gathering of each item. With the first riddle, she'd been so elated to have figured it out, she'd just rushed off the moment she'd been able to locate Crowley...and had just about walked to her death and had nothing to show for it. Clearly more caution was needed.

Except for the second riddle, she had no leads on any of the others. A handful of fairy dust was easy enough. Of course, fairies didn't really produce magic dust as they seemed to in human tales. If one wanted to steal a fairy's power, one had to cut off their wings and grind them into powder: fairy dust. Like angels, fairies had wings that humans couldn't perceive, but they were just as glorious as any angel's wings. To cut a fairy's wings off wouldn't _kill_ it per se, but life may well not be worth living anymore once they were gone. Hannah didn't relish the idea of causing a living being such agony, but it was something she was willing to do for Castiel's sake. So, before setting off on her second mission, the young angel prayed for forgiveness for the horrible act she was about to commit. Then she opened a gateway into fairy and departed.

Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't have been able to enter Faerie without going through the proper channels in Heaven, but with her home still in chaos, it wasn't all that difficult to slip through unnoticed. As such, it was with a great deal of guilt in her heart that Hannah found herself in the Hollow Forest of Arkmoor, plying a fairy maid with cream liqueur. She may as well let the lovely creature have one last moment of pleasure before she took everything from her.

Lovely creature? Had she really just thought that? Perhaps the alcohol was affecting her more because she was in Faerie...or perhaps it was the magic of Faerie itself. Whatever the case may have been, this fairy truly was beautiful. It would be a grievous sin to take her wings from her.

_Castiel,_ she reminded herself as she refilled Gilda's cup once more. _Remember Castiel._

"This cream is truly delicious," the fairy sang just before downing the contents of the cup. With a giggle, she fell backwards off the log they were sitting on, legs flailing awkwardly in the air. "I shall have to make a point of visiting the human realm more often."

"Certainly, my lady. Another?" she asked, holding out the nearly empty bottle.

Through the ungainly tangle of limbs, the fairy somehow managed to hold out her cup, which Hannah obligingly refilled. Then Gilda somehow managed to bring herself to be propped up on the log by her elbows, taking this latest refill a little slower. "And of course...if I visited more often...I'd be able to see _you._"

"Yes," Hannah said softly, reaching out a hand to touch the pink and green patterning of Gilda's wings. The fairy shivered in pleasure at the contact.

"I'd like that. Wouldn't you like that?" Gilda asked, leaning in very close to press a whisper-light kiss to her ear. Hannah also found herself shivering at the touch.

"I would."

Then, before another word could be exchanged, Gilda was pressing her lips against Hannah's. The angel gasped into the kiss, but couldn't help returning the press of lips all the same. As it intensified, she felt an unfamiliar sensation wend its way from her lips down to her loins. It was frightening and scintillating all at once...a desperate desire she didn't understand and had no hope of controlling. In only a moment, though, her budding desires came to nothing, because Gilda passed out in her arms.

Hannah had never wept...not once in the many thousands of years of her existence, never during the wars, nor when she'd fallen from Heaven...not even when she'd thought Castiel had betrayed Heaven, nor when he'd fallen victim to Hell's latest trickery.

Hannah wept now. She sobbed as she held the drunk fairy in her arms, wept as if her heart were breaking...for it was. She knew there would be no coming back from this. Gilda was such a kind soul. Why did it have to be her? Why did this sweet fairy have the misfortune of being the first one she'd encountered upon entering the realm? Why? Why? _Why?_ Why had this task fallen to _her?_ Why had Castiel fallen into temptation in the first place? Hannah knew she deserved the Cage itself for the hideous act she was about to commit.

_Father, please...grant peace to this innocent soul,_ she prayed as she pressed a tender kiss to Gilda's forehead, then another even more loving one to her lips. _Let me see my task through to the end. Then, once Castiel is redeemed and creation is safe again...then let me be cast into Hell. Let me be punished for what I must do to this precious soul._

With that, Hannah gently laid Gilda on her back and bound her hands and feet together, just in case she should wake. That done, she took up the bottle of liqueur and quickly drained it...one last knife to her awful guilt. Would Gilda feel any better about what was to happen if she knew her sacrifice was helping to preserve all of creation?

No. Most probably not.

"Please forgive me, Gilda," she begged softly, running a gentle hand along the side of the fairy's face before snapping her eyes shut and shifting Gilda onto her stomach. Then she called down her angel blade.

Thankfully, Gilda remained passed out during the whole grizzly procedure. When the lovely wings were separated from her body, they still shimmered with the power of her now severed magic. Even though she was covered in the fairy's silvery blood, Hannah found herself somehow disconnected from it all. Once it was done, she used her power to close Gilda's wounds. Then she removed the jacket she'd been wearing and used it to cover the fairy's now diminished form. She looked so much smaller like this...colder.

Once she'd made sure Gilda was as comfortable as she could possibly be, Hannah set to work grinding the wings down into powder, and when all was said and done, the fairy dust was no more substantial than a handful of snow. It was only enough to fill a small glass bottle.

Just as Hannah was tucking the precious bottle into her pocket, she began to feel something unsettling: another presence entering Faerie.

This new presence was neither human nor angelic. It was a demon - _the_ demon, in fact.

Dean.

Dean Winchester had come to Faerie.

XxX

"Oi, Red! Duck!"

The moment Charlie heard Dorothy's voice, she complied, throwing herself to the ground as a hail of flechette projectiles hurtled over her head. She looked up just in time to see the flechettes take out the line of Winkie guerrillas that had been heading toward her.

"_Now!_" Dorothy shouted. "Take 'em down!"

Immediately, Charlie rose up to her full height and took aim at the downed line with her crossbow, firing a volley of emerald-tipped arrows at them. Each Winkie went up in smoke upon being struck through the heart.

"Hell yeah, bitches!" the redhead cheered, pumping a fist in the air. "I totally _wasted_ those motherfuckers!"

"Sure did," Dorothy said, voice full of pride as she came up to pound her on the shoulder. "Y'know, I thought I was gonna get sick of how excited you get after each fight real fast, but nope. It's actually still adorable. Bad ass little bunny with a crossbow," she said, squeezing Charlie's shoulder for perhaps a little longer than was strictly necessary. Charlie was glad her partner couldn't see the blush on her face when she moved away to inspect the spot where the Winkies had fallen.

"Can't help it. I've been waiting my whole life for this. I don't think I'm ever _not_ gonna be giddy when we get into a fight." _Or when you call me things like adorable little bunny._

"Works for me," Dorothy said as she bent to examine the ash the guerrillas had left behind. "Yep. Total annihilation. That group won't be reforming. We can meet up with Fiyero's group in the south. Help them finish cleaning up. There might actually be an end in sight here."

"You think?" Charlie asked, hoping Dorothy wouldn't notice her miserable attempt at playing casual. "So what do you suppose'll happen then?"

"Oh, I dunno. I'm not really the settling type," she said, not looking back at Charlie.

"Yeah, heheh...me neither," she said with a nervous laugh. Wasn't that the bleeding understatement of the year.

"We could always branch out to other realms...see what else is lying around in Faerie," Dorothy suggested

"You think?" Charlie asked hopefully before clumsily trying to curb her enthusiasm. "I mean...that'd be cool."

In the past year they'd been running together, Charlie knew she'd been more of a sidekick to Dorothy than an actual partner, but the other hunter didn't seem to mind it. She'd helped Charlie to improve a lot. Hell, she'd be a goddess among hunters if she ever happened to make it back to Earth. Even so, she sometimes still found herself acting like a lovestruck puppy around Dorothy, and for the life of her, she had no idea if the other hunter had really noticed. Normally, Charlie was never shy about her interest in a potential romantic interest, but Dorothy was different from anyone she'd ever known. It was almost as if she was untouchable...out of reach in a way Charlie had never been able to define. She hadn't had many friends in her life and Dorothy was one person she was truly fearful of wrecking her friendship with on the slim chance there might be something more there.

No. If there was any move to be made here, it would have to come from Dorothy.

"Actually, I've got a better idea," a new voice announced. "Let's forget about Fiyero and talk about a more...hmm..._rewarding_ future for all parties involved."

"Hold the phone," Charlie started as she spun on her heels to see the new arrival: none other than Dean Winchester, just emerging from the forest with a shit-eating grin on his face. "Dean! How the hell did _you_ get into Oz?"

"What? That's all the hello you have for your kinda big brother?" he asked, holding his arms wide for her. Charlie ran to him with a squeal, just about tackling him to the ground with her hug.

Charlie knew something was wrong the moment she was in Dean's arms. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something just wasn't right. Dean gripped her just a little too tight and when she looked up at him, there was something off about his smile.

"Charlie?" she heard Dorothy calling, her voice slightly on edge. She'd been with her long enough to know when she sensed trouble.

"What...what are you doing here? Where's Sam?" she asked. She tried to pull away, but he held her firmly against his chest.

"Aw, Charlie, you look scared. What's wrong?" he asked, snaking out his tongue to lick his lips.

"Well, you _are_ scaring me, Dean. What the hell's going on here?"

"Lots happened while you were off on your little over the rainbow trip, Bradbury. Lots," he said with a sneer. His fingers were starting to dig into her arms.

"I'm not playing around here, man. Let me go right now!" she ordered, now really fighting against his hold. Nothing she did seemed to break his grip, though. His fingers were like iron against her skin, harsh and unyielding.

"Who said _I_ was playin' around? We got important things to talk about, you and me," he said, and as he looked down at her, his green eyes shifted to an inky black color, leaving her to gasp in shock.

"What- what's _happened_ to you?"

"Hey! Bright eyes!" she heard Dorothy shout, the sound of her flechette gun being prepped joining with the angry cry. "You'd better get your hands off of her if you know what's good for you!"

Dean actually laughed at this, slowly shaking his head. "Let's not even get into that."

With that, Dean shoved her away, pushing her hard to the ground. Then he vanished.

"Red, are you okay?" Dorothy asked as she hurried to her, weapon still held at the ready, but before she could reach Charlie, Dean reappeared out of nowhere, seizing Dorothy and holding what looked like an animal's jawbone to her neck like a blade.

"Dorothy!" Charlie cried out as she struggled to her knees.

"Hey, no, no. Don't struggle. Don't fight," Dean said to both of them, his voice strangely soothing. Dorothy fought, but she was clearly no match for the strength the elder Winchester was now in possession of. "This is gonna be nasty enough as it is."

"Dean, what the _fuck!_ What are you doing?" Charlie demanded desperately, remaining on her knees so as to keep her former friend from doing anything drastic.

"What I have to, Charlie. I know it looks bad right now, but you'll be thankin' me for this before too long," he told her, pressing the jawbone to Dorothy's neck and drawing a thin line of blood...maybe just to prove he could.

"Look, whatever you want, I'm pretty sure Dorothy has nothing to do with it. If you just let her go, you and me can talk-"

"Don't play the hostage situation game with me, honey. Li'l Miss Ruby Slippers has everything to do with it. We're all just gonna sit down and have a friendly little chat. I'm gonna tell you what's goin' down...and you and me are gonna make a deal. If you don't feel like dealin', well...Dorothy's loss, I guess."

Charlie swallowed heavily as she stared into Dean's black eyes. She'd been afraid before, no doubt. She'd experienced more fear in just the past few years than most people ever faced in a lifetime, but this was different. The creature standing before her now was her friend...or at least, he _had_ been her friend. She'd thought that maybe she understood a bit of what the Winchesters had gone through in their lives, but now, facing Dean down like this...she was only just beginning to understand that she wasn't even close.

"Okay, Dean. Let's talk. What do you want with me?"

XxX

Crowley could understand developing a taste for human food. He himself certainly had a taste for fine dining. What he couldn't understand was Castiel's fixation with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The stew Elaine had whipped up for the group out of whatever the Winchesters had had lying around in the bunker kitchen was actually very good, all things considered: savory and robust with just a hint of smoke. It was an exemplary offer of the elder Serra twin's considerable culinary skill...but all Cas had wanted was that damnable PB&J. He might almost have been insulted on Elaine's behalf had he not recalled somewhere in the back of his mind that pregnancy involved this sort of thing...odd cravings and all that. Long after the others had finished the meal, Cas was still munching on a fourth sandwich, just barely remembering to swallow before adding his input to the current conversation.

"Lailah, what did you mean before?" Cas asked the elder angel.

"About what?"she returned, taking a sip of the chamomile tea Sam had made for everyone.

"I asked you how you'd found me...and you said that the Rose of Sharon called you to me. You've been saying that in my dreams for the past three weeks. What did you mean by that?"

Lailah looked uncertain for several long moments and when she didn't answer, Sam was the one to finally speak up.

"The Rose of Sharon?" he repeated. "No one's...really sure which plant the phrase literally refers to, but...more commonly, it's a reference to Jesus Christ," he said, glancing back and forth between Cas and Lailah.

"That is true," the elder angel said quietly.

"So...what? Cas is gonna give birth to some kind of savior?" Merry asked.

"That isn't...precisely what it means, no. The man you all refer to certainly wouldn't have thought of himself as a savior. He was a catalyst...a spur for change. Castiel's daughter has the same sort of soul. Her existence will change everything."

"So she _does_ have a soul?" Sam clarified.

"Certainly. After all, what is a human soul but the brightest of Heaven and the darkest of Hell? She will be unlike any being ever before born on this planet, but yes, she does in fact have a soul.

"And is it more than just the celestial being?" Sam continued to press.

"You mean is there a physical pregnancy? Yes, there is an actual fetus growing inside of Castiel's vessel as we speak. The girl will have human form. Granted, she is more celestial intent at the moment than physical form, but I believe that will change as she grows."

"Just 'cuz I'm curious, how do you know it's a girl?" Merry asked.

Lailah raised an eyebrow at this. "I've borne witness to every conception on this planet. I'm witnessing them even now. I know."

"And how do you know this thing isn't an abomination that needs to be snuffed out before it destroys us all?" Crowley put in.

Cas glared at him. "I let you live, Crowley. If killing my child is to be how you repay me, I may just have to take Dean's offer of Hell on a silver platter. Then we'll see about that history of torture you were speaking of," he growled. Crowley raised his hands in surrender, but he didn't back down.

"Legitimate question, Your Nibs. You _don't know_ what this thing will become. Can't speak for you and the suicide watch brothers, but some of us actually like existing. I'm not putting my life on the line for something that would just as happily turn around and kill me."

"Says _you,_" Elaine snipped with a roll of her eyes.

"No child is inherently evil," Lailah said firmly. "No soul is born a monster. All I can say for this child is that she will have great power. She has it already without even being truly conscious of it. It will be up to the people who love her to show her how to use that power responsibly."

"Oh, lovely. The Spider-Man talk," the King of Hell grumbled.

"Lay off, man. Nobody's making you stay here this time," Sam reminded him, to which the demon gave a conceding nod and finally shut his trap.

"I can taste the sandwich again," Cas commented absently in the ensuing silence.

"Translation?" Elaine asked, eyes shifting between Sam and the two angels.

"After the Fall, Cas was human for a few months," Sam explained. "When he regained grace and became an angel again, he said he couldn't taste food anymore."

"I can now," Cas said, his focus shifting back to Lailah. "I find myself...actually _needing_ to consume food, to sleep...all of the old human things. Why do you suppose that would be?"

"My guess would be these are things the child needs of you. As powerful as she is, she's still a growing little girl, and your vessel isn't designed for bearing children. She will give you and Dean great strength, but she will take just as much from you. I can guarantee the coming months will tax you greatly. You will suffer very much. Are you ready for that?" she asked, reaching a hand across the table to rest on top of his. He met her gaze with utter conviction in his eyes.

"Yes. I am prepared to lay down my life for Dean's daughter."

"And here's to hoping it doesn't come to _that,_" Sam said before draining the rest of his tea. He was probably going to need a beer before this conversation was over.

"But let's be honest with ourselves; it probably will. It usually does," Crowley pointed out.

"Crowley-" Elaine started to growl.

"I know. I know. Shutting the fuck up," he said before zipping his lips.

"Something that's been bugging me...you guys think there are already angels on the hunt for this kid, yeah?" Merry asked, getting to her feet and starting to walk around the table.

"Yes," Cas answered.

"Well...how come Hannah's the only one you've seen? If they're as afraid of this kid as you think they are, shouldn't there be platoons of angels roaming the streets looking to knife anyone who even looks pregnant?"

"What are you thinking?" Sam asked her.

"I'm thinking...what if they don't know? I mean...who all do you know for sure knows about this?"

"The six of us here and Hannah. I suppose Metatron must know if she went to him for help," Cas surmised.

"So...what if nobody else knows? You said she thinks she's saving your life. What would happen if she told Heaven about this?"

"They would hunt me down...and if they did not outright kill me, they would kill the child within me," Cas said slowly.

"Okay, yeah, I get what you're saying. So Hannah may well be in this hunt alone," Sam said, getting up and starting to pace with Merry. "And if we can keep her from carrying out this ritual, maybe keep the other angels from finding out, we might just have a shot at this."

"Well...for that, we would need to solve the rest of Metatron's riddle," Cas said, looking up at Sam with a new glint in his eyes.

"Let's do this thing then. What's the rest of the riddle?" Sam pressed.

"We know the first item. The second is a handful of fairy dust. The third is the heart of a desperate child. The fourth is the perfect height of faith, hatred, and love. The fifth is the trust of one who is not yet a mother. The sixth is a ring of perfectly mirrored hunters' blood. The seventh item is a mother whose circle is unbroken," Cas recounted, remembering the way Metatron's words had sounded in Hannah's head...full of hope and redemption. But to him these words sounded ominous - ominous, aching, and horribly sad. Whatever had happened to Israfil, it was something no living creature should have to endure.

"All right, well, we know from Crowley's gun that these things aren't literal," Merry started.

"Yeah, y'know, hence the word _riddle,_" Crowley sniped, but neither Sam nor Merry was paying him any mind.

"So what do they mean by fairy dust then?" Elaine wondered aloud.

"I imagine that's somehow a reference to stealing a fairy's magic," Lailah said. "Such a thing is accomplished by cutting their wings off. Hannah would need to cross to Faerie for that."

"Guess we can't worry about that one," Sam decided. "If she can just clip the wings off any random fairy, no way we can keep her from that one. Next one."

"The heart of a desperate child," Merry rattled off.

"Not necessarily an actual heart. Emotions, maybe...something representative of the heart, love...a love symbol...someone who falls in love, maybe a ring?" Elaine suggested.

"But how does that fit with a desperate child?" Sam asked. "Maybe...someone who's desperate to be loved...who's never been loved before...why a child, though?"

"Don't suppose it could mean a virgin, do you?" Merry asked.

"That could also apply to the fifth item, the trust of one who is not yet a mother," Sam pointed out. "That could be any woman who hasn't had children."

"Somehow I doubt that. This ritual pertains to Israfil," Lailah reminded them. "If I understand Metatron's story correctly, Israfil was one who was robbed of her chance to be a mother. More likely we seek someone who is already pregnant."

"Hell, it could even be _you_, Cas," Sam said.

"No, I don't think so," Crowley interjected before Cas could say anything. "See, your angel boy trusts just a bit too easily. If the requirement is the _trust_ of one who is not yet a mother, you'll be needing someone whose trust is harder to gain."

"I am inclined to agree with Crowley on that one," Cas said. "Besides, we have yet to address the fourth item. What is the perfect height of faith, hatred, and love?"

"Well, that's just nice and poetic isn't it," Merry said as she flopped back into a chair.

"Yes, poetry!" Sam immediately latched onto the word. "That's absolutely what we're dealing with here. A perfect height...faith, hate, love...maybe someone who's lost their faith."

"Pretty strange perfect height. I would say a breakup, but that's just as strange," Merry said. "What about sex?"

"What does faith have to do with sex?" Sam asked. "Plus, I'd sure hope I don't hate the person I'm sleeping with."

"Oh, my God," Elaine suddenly interrupted. "You guys, I think I know what the sixth item is."

"Well?" Sam pressed.

"Merry...it's you and me. A ring of perfectly mirrored hunters' blood. Perfectly mirrored. How many sets of hunter twins can there possibly be running around out there?"

"You definitely might have a point on that one," Sam agreed.

"So...if she needs our blood, I guess the solution to that is to keep separate. She can't get what she needs if she can't get both of us," Elaine said.

"Only one above ground at a time then?" Merry asked, looking somewhat dejected by the idea.

"No other choice," Elaine said as she stood from her own chair, moving over to her sister and resting a hand on her shoulder.

"I know. I get it. It just really sucks."

"And if we have that item correct, the only one we have yet to talk about is the seventh," Lailah said. "The mother whose circle is unbroken."

"Don't suppose that one could be sexual, do you?" Merry asked them, a somewhat self-deprecating smile on her face.

"What? Do you mean like a virgin birth or something?" Sam asked.

"No such thing," Lailah said right away.

"You know, kiddies, as thrilling as all this conjecture is, it doesn't seem like it'll do us much good if Hannah still manages to get the drop on us," Crowley interjected once again. "Seems to me the best thing we can do is get a tail on little miss angel. If you'll excuse me a moment, I might just have something we can do about that."

Before anyone could really say anything, Crowley had gone, leaving them all just a little bit more confused than when they'd started. Cas was the first to fill the vacuum the demon king had left.

"This actually works out very well. While our...partner...is absent, I'd like to ask you something," the angel said as he also stood from the table, looking directly at Merry.

"About the bullet I used, you mean," the younger twin said quietly.

"Yes...and that prayer...what was it?"

For a moment, the twins glanced at each other. After seeming to come to some sort of conclusion, they turned back to the two angels and the hunter.

"Fer pacem agnis perditis," Merry said slowly.

"Bring peace to the lost lambs," Elaine translated.

"Dona requiem dentibus lupi."

"I bid thee give rest to the fangs of the wolf."

"Et voca malleum mortis Diabolo te iubeo."

"And call the hammer of death unto the Devil," Elaine finished solemnly.

"And that's...what? A prayer? An incantation?" Sam asked, glancing between Cas and the twins.

"Something like that. It's a new type of ammunition we were supposed to be testing out for a friend of ours. The words are inscribed into the bullet. Saying them aloud is supposed to compound their effect. She calls the round a gospel. Once she's got the makeup right, she's pretty sure she'll have a round that can kill both angels and demons," Elaine explained.

"Kill angels? How?" Cas asked her.

"You think Crowley's the only one who would think to melt down an angel blade? Hunter's been working on the gospel for years now. I'm pretty sure Dean only survived because he's a Knight of Hell, but any other demon or angel, those bullets can kill," Merry said.

"Hunter? What do you mean hunter? The hunter who designed these bullets?" Sam asked, trying to ignore the fact that Merry hadn't known whether or not her shot would kill Dean.

"No, that's her name. Hunter Silver. Never met her before? She specializes in supernatural weaponry. Kind of a family business for the Silvers," Merry said.

"Silver?" Sam repeated, a memory slowly starting to spark in his brain. "You mean like...Joseph and Lily Silver? The hunter couple who died in the Packwood takedown? What was that...fifteen years ago?"

"You got it," Merry said.

"I didn't know they had a daughter."

"Yeah, well. She likes to keep a low profile...unlike _some_ people," Merry said, throwing a smirk his way. "Big bad Winchesters."

"So...wait. Her parents were hunters and they _named_ her Hunter?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Pretty much. Why?" Elaine asked him.

Sam shrugged. "Nothing. Just haven't decided if that's sadistic or awesome yet."

"Well, seems to suit her well enough. Once word gets out that these rounds work, she's gonna be the biggest arms dealer in the business," Merry said.

"Have you got any more rounds?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, a whole case out in the Jeep. What're you thinking?" Elaine asked.

"I'm thinking if we're gonna be fighting both sides here, this ammunition might be useful. Do you know where Hunter Silver operates?"

"She's got a little workshop outside of Remington, Virginia. Real small town, nobody bothers her...well, until recently anyway," Merry said, glancing uncertainly at her sister.

"Why's that?" Sam asked.

"Three other hunters used to operate out of her workshop. They got into it with a gang of Abaddon junkies about a month ago. The gospels weren't ready yet. Hunter was the only one who got out. They got her out so she could finish her work," Elaine answered.

Sam sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. Dealing with the deaths of three friends and no doubt feeling responsible for it, he was almost surprised Hunter Silver had managed to turn out working ammunition, much less the demon-killing type. He didn't envy this girl one bit, knowing just how important she was about to become.

"Sam, this woman's work could be very valuable to us. We need to get to her before anyone else does," Cas told him.

"Yeah, right. Okay, here's what we're gonna do. Merry and I will head out to Virginia, see if we can get Hunter to move shop. Think you can handle guard duty, Elaine?" he asked her.

"Sure," she said with a nod.

"Crowley'll probably be coming back. You gonna be okay with him?"

"Yeah, sure," she said, and if Sam hadn't seen Elaine Serra at her worst, he might not have seen the moment of hesitation in her eyes, but he had and he did.

"Hold on," Cas started. "If I'm understanding your plan correctly, you mean for me to stay here."

"That's right," Sam said, fixing Cas with a very pointed stare.

"Sam, no. What if you run into trouble out there? You might need my help," the angel argued.

"That's why Merry's going with me. We'll watch each other's backs. I don't want you leaving the bunker until the situation's a little more stable. Honestly, I shouldn't have even asked you to come to Colorado with me. We all saw how that one almost turned out. I let Metatron hurt Dean. _I_ let him use the Blade and _I'm_ the one who let him go up against Metatron alone. It was _my fault._ The _least_ I can do for him 'til we get him back is make damn sure nothing happens to you or the baby!" Sam snapped at him as he slammed his fist down on the table. Lailah and the twins stared at him in shock, but Cas just looked hurt...like the proverbial kicked puppy.

"It wasn't," he said softly, blue eyes bright with sorrow.

"Wasn't what?" Sam hissed as he turned away from him.

"It wasn't your fault."

"Yeah, we're definitely not having _that_ conversation. We'll be here all night."

"You are correct, though. It was foolish of me to leave the bunker...careless and selfish. It isn't just myself I have to think on anymore. I will remain here...for now, but if you need me, promise me you'll call. I want to help in any way I possibly can," the angel insisted.

"Yeah, sure, Cas. I promise," Sam said quietly as he turned back to him. "But the best thing you can do right now is stay alive. We'll figure everything else out later. Merry, we're heading out in an hour."

Merry might have responded, but that was the moment they were interrupted.

"Sam, I need your help."

The five of them looked up to see Dorothy standing in the doorway, holding the key to Oz and looking badly shaken.

"Something terrible's happened."

XxX

(A/N) Quick note - the twins' incantation is actually from a show called Chrno Crusade, but the Latin translation is my own. It just seemed like something that fit very well with Supernatural. I also don't believe I've made a note of this before, but the line of verse Lailah keeps repeating is from the poem "To His Savior, a Child: a Present by a Child" by Robert Herrick. It's just been altered slightly to suit the story. Metatron's little bit of verse regarding Israfil is a poem by Edgar Allan Poe titled just that: "Israfil." Shame on me for not leaving these notes before!


	6. Silver Bullets

**The Rose of Sharon**

_Chapter 6: Silver Bullets_

"Dorothy!" Sam exclaimed, quickly moving toward her and helping her into the room. She looked like she very much wanted to push him away, but at the same time, she was too shaken to refuse his help. By the time he helped her into a chair, she was barely in control of her shaking. "You're not hurt are you? What happened? What are you even _doing_ here?"

"One...one question at a time," she said, trying to laugh and failing. The hard confidence Sam remembered from their first meeting was gone, just barely held as a shattering facade over shock and horror.

"Here, drink this," Lailah said, reappearing with a glass of water. Dorothy tried to take it, but when she proved unable to grip it, Lailah simply held it to her lips and she drank that way.

"Dorothy...what happened?" Sam asked again once the hunter had had a chance to breathe. "Where's Charlie? Why isn't she with you?"

"We- we were attacked...by your brother," she struggled to explain.

"Oh, God," Sam whispered in horror, briefly glancing down at the floor. "What...what happened?"

"He said...he wanted her to become a Knight of Hell. When she refused him, he...he tortured me."

"Dean," Cas whispered, his voice thick with quiet anguish.

_Dean, why?_

"I kept...telling her not to give in to him," Dorothy said quietly, closing her eyes tightly against the memory. "I told her not to do anything stupid for me. I would have _died_ for that stupid little red!"

"But Charlie couldn't bear to watch someone else she cared about die," Sam supplied for her. Dorothy nodded.

"It got to a point where she just couldn't take it anymore. I was close to gone. I wish...she'd held out just a little longer. Then I would've died and she would've been free," Dorothy snarled, slamming an angry fist against the table.

"No. Charlie wouldn't have been able to live with herself if you'd died for her," Elaine reassured the other hunter.

"Guess not. Either way, she made the damn deal. He healed me...then he ran her through with his blade. I don't know what he did, but...when she opened her eyes again, they were black."

"Was there anything else?" Sam pressed. "Did they happen to mention where they were going? What their other targets might be? Anything at all?"

"No...there was nothing," Dorothy said, looking away from them in a way that suggested there very much _was_ something else...but something personal...something she wasn't comfortable sharing with them. Whatever it was, it probably wouldn't help them. It would only cause her more pain. "I just...I knew you were the only one who could help me, so I came to find you."

"It's okay, Dorothy. We're going to get Dean back. We can get Charlie back, too," he tried to reassure her. "Lailah, can you stay with her for a bit? We need to talk," he said, glancing around at Cas and the twins.

"Of course," Lailah said, pulling up a chair and sitting down beside Dorothy while Sam led the others down into the war room.

"It's getting worse," Cas said, pain sharp in his eyes as he looked at Sam.

"I know," Sam growled, feeling a very Dean-like desire to just punch the walls. It twisted his insides in knots to think of Charlie as a demon...sweet, sassy, fun-loving Charlie. Who else might Dean hurt in his quest to resurrect the Knights? Who was his next target? How could they _stop_ him? "Merry, I'm sorry, but we need to get gone yesterday. For all we know, Hunter could be Dean's next victim. We need to get to Virginia as fast as we can."

"Right," Merry said, quickly heading away to get ready.

"Elaine, can you keep an eye on Dorothy? Make sure she's all right?"

"Of course."

"And Cas...just...just be careful," Sam said. For a moment, the angel just looked confused.

"I will, Sam...but why do you insist?"

"I don't know. I just...I feel like he might try to draw you out for some reason. If he calls to you, you need to _promise_ me you won't answer. It's too dangerous. You said it yourself. It's not just your own well-being you have to worry about now," Sam reminded him.

Castiel felt something claw at his heart at the thought of shutting Dean out. He wasn't certain if he could keep such a promise, but he knew he would have to try, just the same. Finally, he nodded, keeping his eyes closed to avoid looking at Sam.

"Yes. Do what you must. I will remain here."

XxX

Crowley hadn't spent a great deal of time in Hell since Dean had toppled Abaddon. As he'd tried to tell the throne-stealing son of a bitch before, it was complicated, and it seemed it would only be getting more so if the current state of things was anything to go by.

The plains of Hell were chaotic with battle. Unlike Abaddon, who had only promised Hell and Earth to the teeming masses, Dean was promising them Heaven as well...all of creation to run roughshod over. If he could get Castiel to agree to this whole business, he was well in a position to deliver on those promises. All the Abaddon loyalists he'd had locked up had been set free and while demon fighting demon wasn't exactly anything new, it was still depressing to think of the cleanup that lay ahead once this whole affair was resolved...

..._if_ it was resolved.

While Hell was going to Hell around them, Crowley was pacing back and forth in his office before a line of six demons, all of them handpicked for the missions he had in mind. None of them were particularly powerful, just well-suited to the tasks, clever, and not a one of them wanted to see Dean ascend to the throne of Hell. Unlike the weak-minded masses falling for the Winchester's promises of conquest, he had been able to trust this cadre of demons with the truth behind Dean's meteoric rise in power, and they understood just how dangerous it was. They knew just how precarious the situation was and they were ready to fight for their king. Strangely enough, Crowley found he couldn't keep himself from grinning, despite the present danger.

"So you all understand how this is to work, yes?" he asked, looking at each of them in turn.

"Of course," Olivia answered for all of them. "All in the bag, boss man. We'll get her done."

"Good. And you've all got your assigned drop points?"

"Straight up."

"All right. You'll deploy in teams of two."

"And if we don't receive instruction at the drop points?" Kaoru asked, his gaze shifting between Olivia and Crowley.

"Then you'll meet up in 'frisco and plan from there. The important point here is not to let Squirrel catch up with you. You really don't want to know what he can do to you now."

"So Hannah was last seen in Keystone?" Olivia clarified.

"Yes."

"Well, gotta start somewhere," she said, voice oddly chipper for a demon about to embark on a covert mission. Grabbing Kaoru by the elbow, she poofed out of the office with him in tow.

"The pair of you may need to split up at some point," Crowley addressed the second group, Lastelle and Magdelene. "It's Lebanon for you."

"No worries," Lastelle said, grinning as he glanced at his partner. "How 'bout it, Mags? Ready to make some trouble?"

"You have no idea," she said, both of them grinning maniacally as they joined hands and disappeared.

"And the two of you will be sticking with me for the moment. Better chance of meeting up with our Winchester on the actual battlefield," Crowley said to the last pair of demons, Dana and Akilina.

"You think he won't realize you're putting a tail on him?" Dana asked, his form shifting with nerves. Just because he was willing to fight for Crowley's regime didn't mean he wasn't unnerved by the idea of the Knights of Hell returning.

"I'm actually counting on it. If it all goes according to plan, you should have an opportunity to get close to him. We're taking no chances with this little bastard."

"And which little bastard would that be exactly?" Akilina asked with a smirk. "There seem to be a lot of those recently."

"Either or. They're both colossal pains in my arse and Castiel's not far behind. The important thing is he not find out about the abomination. I shudder to think what he might do with that information."

"And what information's that?" Dean's familiar and now feared voice sounded as the door to the office was blown open. The former hunter stormed into the office wielding the First Blade, followed by a squad of demons. Among them was the redhead Crowley remembered seeing in the bunker several months back. Charlie? Whatever her name was, she was covered in blood and her eyes were black. Even though she didn't look like much, Crowley could sense the great power within her. She was the second knight of Hell - Dean's righthand woman.

"Well, so much for sentinels," Crowley said with a sigh before attempting to teleport away...only to find that he couldn't. As had happened with Cain, he was trapped here with the Knights of Hell. "Bollocks."

"That's fuckin' right, bollocks. You're not goin' anywhere. Turns out I didn't need Cain to teach me how to shut you up. You and me, we're gonna talk about new management...and about that abomination you were just talkin' about."

"Oh, you know, any number of abominations lying around. We _are_ in Hell, after all. Miss the old place, Winchester?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever. Don't really like what you've done with it. This shit is fuckin' boring. I think what the place needs is a return to...simpler times," Dean said, grinning as he went to sit on Crowley's desk. As the rest of his posse surrounded the office, Charlie moved toward Crowley, subduing him faster than even he could track. Almost before he was aware of it, he was on his knees before Dean with an angel blade at his throat.

"Move and I'll gladly take this bitch's head off," Charlie warned Dana and Akilina, digging the blade in just slightly.

"Do what they say," Crowley said, nervously eyeing Dean.

"Good boy," Dean said with a chuckle.

"I warned Abaddon and I'll repeat that warning for your sake, Dean, seeing as how you're practically family...but you _cannot_ rule this place with chaos. It _will destroy you._ You will _burn._"

"What? Because I haven't already? I burn. That's what I _do._ Not many people know that better than you. Guess I could thank you for the warning, Gramps, but I think you and I both know I'm a whole different animal from that other bitch. I've got big plans for this used car lot. I think you and I both know I can work this deal. So...tell me about this abomination," Dean invited, scraping the First Blade along the surface of the desk. Crowley winced as the harsh sound filled his ears.

"It's nothing!" the demon king snarled at him.

"Yeah, 'cuz you _shudder_ to think what I'd do with the information. I can see just how nothing that is," Dean hissed as he hopped off the desk and walked toward them. "Is this a secret you're really willin' to _die_ for?"

Crowley glared up at the would-be king for several minutes, weighing his options. Of _course_ he didn't want to die for Dean and Castiel's unholy whelp. The little beastie certainly wouldn't appreciate the favor. In fact, she'd probably kill him herself if her parents wanted it. However, given that the alternative was Dean learning just what sorts of powers he had control over...him becoming even more of an unstoppable adversary than he already was...

"Well...not _willing,_ exactly," Crowley said, spitting on the floor at Dean's feet, "but given that you're going to kill me anyway, I'm going to have to go with...yes. I will tell you nothing. You're just going to have to kill me."

Dean raised both eyebrows at this, a faint sneer starting to spread across his face as he traced the Blade along Crowley's jaw. "Wow. I gotta say, I'm almost impressed, Crowley. The former King of Hell willin' to die to protect somethin'...it's damn near heroic is what it is...'cept for the fact that it's gonna be for nothin'," he snapped as he took a nick out of Crowley's cheek. "I don't even need to torture you...much as I'd get off on that. See, I can just reach into your mind and _take_ what I want. So...best if you just bend over and _take it,_ bitch king," he hissed in his face as he pressed his free hand to the side of Crowley's head.

"Dean," the demon king tried to warn when he felt the burn of demonic power pressing at his thoughts, scrabbling to force its way inside. "Don't do this."

Dean laughed as his grip tightened. "What? No threats? No...you've got nothin' left. Y'know I-" he stopped mid-gloat, his eyes suddenly bulging and his hands dropping to his sides. For a moment, he seemed to struggle for breath, mouth twisting around words he couldn't speak. Crowley could feel the power drain out of him as surely as the color was draining from his face. Then he dropped to his knees, fingers briefly clawing at his chest before he passed out cold.

"Dean!" Charlie shouted, immediately releasing the King of Hell. The moment Crowley felt Dean's power over him loosen, he zapped out of the office, out of Hell and as far away from Dean Winchester as he could get.

XxX

Sam and Merry hadn't even been gone for an hour and Cas already found he was growing anxious. Lailah had taken Dorothy to one of the bunker's rooms to rest and Elaine had pulled out Sam and Dean's previous research on the Knights of Hell, looking to see if there was anything more to be learned from the Men of Letters' notes. The angel, meanwhile, wasn't left with much to do, so he wound up just pacing around the library. Finally, Elaine slammed her face down on the book she had open and groaned.

"Cas, would you please chill? You're making _me_ nervous. It'll be a couple days before they get back."

"My apologies, Elaine. It is beyond my control. I feel like I am doing nothing to help. Everyone is doing so much for me already...and all I can do is sit here," he said, barely stopping in his circling to get the words out.

Elaine just smiled wryly at the angel for several moments before flipping open another book and calling out to him. "Think you could help me translate these pages?"

Cas came to the table and looked over her shoulder at the writing. Then he raised an eyebrow when he looked down at her. "You are trying to distract me. I know you read Enochian very well."

"Hey, you said you wanted something to do. It's just one less thing I have to. Humor me."

For a moment, Cas found himself struck by the words...just the last two. It was so similar to the way Dean spoke them...but he ultimately managed to shake the thought off, focusing his attention on the page before him.

"Zir noco Iod Babalon. I am the servant of the Eternal God and the Wicked One," he began, but before he could get past the first line, his legs suddenly gave out and he was collapsing against the table.

"Cas!" Elaine shouted, in motion almost immediately. She helped him to the floor before he could collapse completely. "Cas, what's wrong?"

He tried to answer her, but found he couldn't make his mouth work. It was as if all the strength had suddenly been drained from his body. It was a struggle just to keep his eyes open...to _breathe,_ even.

_What...what's - happening...to me? Is it the child? No! I can't lose her! Please...don't take Dean's child away from me!_ he pleaded with whomever might listen as consciousness slipped through his fingers. All he could manage before passing out cold was a fearful glance up into Elaine's wide blue eyes.

Elaine was left holding the angel's comatose body in her arms. He'd gone completely slack and the color had drained from his face. The only indication he was even still alive was the faint rise and fall of his chest.

"_Lailah!_" she shouted as loud as she could. At the sound of her cry, both Lailah and Dorothy came running.

"Oh," Lailah whispered, quickly coming to kneel beside them, taking stock of Castiel's vitals, both physical and angelic.

"He just...collapsed. I don't know what happened."

"His spiritual energy's been drained. If he'd been human, it would've killed him."

"Will he be all right?" Elaine pressed.

"I hope so. I couldn't say what caused it. The only guess I have is that either he or Dean was using too much power at once."

"And Cas wasn't using any power, so...it must have been something Dean was doing."

"Yes," Lailah said absently as she gently brushed a few strands of stray hair from Cas' face. "I couldn't say how long he will sleep like this. As long as it takes him to recover his strength. All we can really do is make sure he's resting comfortably."

"Should we tell Sam?"

"Not yet," Lailah answered after a moment of thought. "We'll see if Castiel's condition changes in the next few days."

"Well, apparently swooning's the thing to do these days," Crowley commented as he appeared in the library, quickly taking in what was happening.

"What are you talking about?" Elaine asked him.

"I just saw the exact same thing happen to Dean Winchester in Hell."

"I take it he was expending a great amount of power," Lailah said, observing the bloody condition of the demon king's meat suit.

"You could say that. So this is what happens when one or the other gets too deep into it?"

"Looks like," Elaine said.

"Well...that could certainly prove useful," Crowley commented, more to himself than to them.

"You've seen Dean?" Dorothy asked the King of Hell.

"Yes, I..." Crowley's voice slowly trailed off as he looked Dorothy up and down. "Oh, yes. You're the one who was with the redhead."

"Where is she?" Dorothy demanded quietly.

"Probably still in Hell with Squirrel...and she absolutely belongs there now."

"Don't say that!" Dorothy snarled as she leapt to her feet. "Don't you _dare_ say that!"

"Ah," the demon murmured as he observed the reaction. "You'll be the one she made her deal for, then. Word of advice...it would hurt less to forget about her."

"Crowley-" Elaine started.

"I didn't say that she _should_...only that it would hurt less," he clarified. "This will only get worse before it gets better."

"We should probably get Castiel to his bed," Lailah said, making an executive decision to shut the demon king out. With little effort, she lifted the younger angel's unconscious form into her arms and carried him out of the library, straight to the room he'd claimed for himself. Being gentle, she laid him out on his bed, resting his head on the pillows and covering him with a blanket.

"Castiel," she began softly, "I know this will be extremely difficult for you to bear...and it will be difficult for me to watch you suffer...but I swear to you, I will do everything in my power to make your wish come true. I won't fail again," she promised him, leaning over to press a single gentle kiss to the sleeping angel's forehead.

"Ima..." he called out quietly in his sleep as his hands began to curl into fists. Kneeling beside the bed, Lailah reached to take one of his hands in hers. "Dean..."

The grip wasn't strong...not really...but it was desperate...the grip of someone desperately struggling to hold on.

"I'm here," she soothed, prepared to ride out whatever nightmare was happening behind Castiel's eyelids. "Ima's right here."

"Dean..._Dean!_ Please..."

XxX

_At first, Cas doesn't know where he is, but as the scene before him becomes clearer, that starts to matter less and less._

_He sees Dean lying on a bed, either asleep or unconscious. As he watches, a slash wound suddenly appears in his stomach. Still Dean doesn't move._

_"Dean!" he shouts, trying to run to him, but something stops him. No matter how hard he fights, he can't get any closer. All he can do is watch Dean bleed out._

_"Dean, __**please!**__" he screams, pounding a fist against the invisible barrier that separates them. "You've got to wake up!"_

_Briefly, Dean twitches, groaning in his sleep._

_"Cas?" he calls out, hands curling into fists. "Cas!"_

_"__**Dean!**__"_

_"Cas...help me!" he cries out, the sound of it cutting the angel to the heart_._ "__**Save me!**__"_

_"You can never save him," another voice hisses in his ear. "No matter what you do, no matter how much you love him, you will never be able to save the Righteous Man. They will take him from you, over and over again, and they will take your child. You can do nothing but watch him __**burn!**__"_

_As the voice continues to taunt him, Dean's bleeding only grows worse. He's screaming now...and Castiel cannot bear it. He feels he will go mad with the sound of it lancing through his soul. Clutching at his ears in desperation, he bashes his head against the invisible barrier, screaming right along with him._

_"__**NOOOO!**__"_

XxX

Because they had begun their drive so late at night, Sam and Merry had decided to take five hour shifts at the wheel of Elaine's Jeep Wrangler. It would take about twenty hours to reach Virginia and the popular theory was that dividing up the shifts like that would allow both of them a chance to sleep. That, of course, was only a theory, as Sam hadn't slept a wink during Merry's first shift and she wasn't sleeping now that he was behind the wheel. Were it not for the radio, it would have been them just driving in uncomfortable silence.

"So...what's this thing with Elaine and Crowley?" Sam finally asked, deciding that if neither of them was going to sleep, they may as well get some things figured out.

"I'm not really sure. We've...bumped heads a few times. He keeps dropping hints to her about making some kind of deal, but he's never told her why...so far as I know, anyway. Sometimes I think he's just got a thing for Elaine because she has a demon mark, but...I don't know," the younger twin said, turning to look out the window. The sky was only just beginning to threaten to lighten.

"He doesn't usually allow people the same leeway he gives her. Something's going on there."

"I know, I know. I just don't know what to do about it. Sometimes I feel like...she doesn't _want_ me to help her...like...she wishes I _hadn't_...back then. I'm afraid that's the kind of hold Crowley has over her," she said, leaning her head despondently against the window.

Sam shivered at her words. He could definitely understand what _that_ was like, having to deal with a sibling who didn't _want_ to be saved. "We're going to have to be careful of that, then. Whatever Crowley's deal is, Dean will definitely try to use that against her...make her one of his. I know none of us want to see that happen."

"No," Merry said quietly, still not looking at him.

"Though...on the subject of Dean...how did you know the gospel wouldn't kill him?" Sam asked her, trying to ease into the conversation, as he wasn't sure of what the answer might be. Sure enough, he felt Merry stiffen in the passenger seat.

"I _didn't,_" she answered sharply. "I shot to kill. Cas was the one who knew it wouldn't kill him."

"_What?_" he demanded. "Merry, he...what if you _had_ killed him?"

"Not ashamed to say I _wanted_ Dean Winchester dead just then. If it weren't for Cas, I'd be in a wheelchair now. Dean did that."

"Merry, it wasn't his fault!" Sam tried to argue. "What would you do if I tried to kill Elaine?"

"This is a slightly different situation."

"How?"

"It wasn't...just torture. That demon...did things..."

"What things?"

"God dammit, how do you _want_ me to say it? Do I have to spell it out?! He _raped_ me, Sam! Your brother fucking _raped me!_" she screamed at him.

_Oh, God._

Sam had pulled off the highway before he was really aware of doing so. For a moment, the two of them just sat in silence, not looking at each other.

"I...I'm sorry," he said quietly, knowing that an apology didn't even begin to cover what Merry had probably been through. Normally, he would have rested a hand on her shoulder, but he wasn't sure how she would react to him touching her, so he left it alone.

"I'm not gonna say it's okay. It's not, but...what else can we do? It's the job. Sometimes people die...and sometimes things happen that can never unhappen," she said, finally looking over at him.

"Merry, you...you really ought to _talk_ to someone about this."

"Why? Elaine was there. She saw what happened."

"That's not really what I mean."

"What? You mean go find a shrink? See a rape councilor? Yeah, that'll go over well. Hi, my name is Meredith Serra and I was conceived through a crossroads deal. My parents were eaten by demons and I was raped by an old friend who was demonically possessed at the time. Thank you for the straitjacket," she parroted, giving the sign for 'screw loose' before banging her head against the dashboard. "It just doesn't work that way for people like us. We're all in desperate need of a heaping helping of psycho therapy."

"Not gonna contest you on that one, but...hell, it doesn't even have to be a professional. You just...you can't keep something like that in," he insisted.

"Oh, yeah, because you have so much experience with rape," she snapped.

"I have experience with _trauma_. It's not all that different. What did you and Elaine do on the drive to Lebanon? Just sit and not talk?"

"Basically. I was angry at her for trying to make the deal to save me and she saw me tortured and raped. What did we have to talk about?"

"Did you really just ask me that? 'Cuz I can't even _begin_ to tell you how screwed up that sounds. You didn't even-"

"Okay, okay, okay," she interrupted, throwing her hands up and kicking her feet up onto the dash. "If I promise to talk to someone, can we please get back to work? I'm really starting to worry about Hunter. I can deal later, but she might need our help right now. We can't just sit here and do nothing!"

Sam stared at the younger hunter for several moments before finally sighing and nodding. "Yeah," he said, shifting the car back into gear and getting back on the road. After a time, Merry actually managed to fall asleep and Sam found he couldn't keep himself from looking over at her from time to time. It wasn't a peaceful sleep and Sam knew this was probably the only time he'd be able to see past the facade she was keeping up. Even in sleep, her face was knotted with worry and she held herself curled up, as if she couldn't relax. Had he really let himself be taken in by her playful attitude before? He should damn well recognize that sort of thing by now.

_Damn you, Dean,_ the thought repeated itself in his head over and over again, eating him up with anger and guilt. _And damn __**me,**__ too._

XxX

The sun was setting when Sam pulled up to the dilapidated farmhouse Merry had directed him to. The coming darkness did nothing to disguise the fact that the building was falling apart. In fact, it probably made it look even worse.

"So...how does the woman who's about to become the biggest name in demon-killing bullets wind up in a place like this?" Sam asked as he surveyed the old house.

"This is the old Falconer farmhouse. Hunter's mom couldn't live here after what happened, but after her parents died, it became Hunter's sanctuary."

"Oh," Sam said quietly. He knew the story of Lily Falconer, of course. Young Lily had brought her boyfriend, Joseph Silver, home from senior prom. What the two of them had seen that night had changed them forever. A wendigo had attacked Lily's parents and the two teens had interrupted it. Through sheer dumb luck, the young couple had managed to kill the creature and the rest had been history...except for the part about them having a daughter. That one he hadn't known...though it might certainly explain how one of the most legendary husband and wife duos had gotten themselves killed.

"She knows we're coming, yeah?" he asked Merry as the younger hunter hopped out of the Jeep.

"Yeah, I called her before we took off. She's more of a day sleeper anyway. She'll be ready to party...y'know, assuming demons didn't get here first," she said, sounding a little nervous as she hurried up to the door, quickly throwing it open.

"Aren't you even going to knock?" Sam asked, drawing his gun as he followed her into the house.

"No need. She doesn't really live in the farmhouse. It's just a front," Merry explained as she led him to a set of stairs that led down to a basement level. At the bottom of the stairs, there was a solid iron door. Merry began to rap on it the moment she reached it. "Hey, Hunt! You in? You'd better be in!"

"It's open!" a woman's voice called over some sort of intercom. Grinning, Merry pushed the door open and hurried inside.

When Sam thought of workshops, he thought more of Bobby's old place: piles of everything under the sun lying everywhere, necessary things somehow materializing out of the murk when they were needed. He was used to squalor, basically. Hunter's workshop had more the look of a lab: cabinets everywhere, materials all perfectly organized, and boxes of what he assumed was ammo stacked and ready.

Hunter herself was sitting at a table in the middle of it all, stripping down a rifle. She was older than the twins, probably nearer to his age. She was on the unhealthy side of slender, like she hadn't been eating well for a few months. Her skin was pale and her straight black hair fell to just past her shoulder blades. Mostly it was loose, but she had some of it pulled into a braid on the right side of her head. Sam vaguely noted all of these things, but they weren't really what drew his gaze to the woman. It was the fact that she was dressed in nothing but a pair of short jean shorts and a black bra.

"Hey, Hunt!" Merry said cheerfully as she came up behind Hunter, wrapping her arms around her and hugging her from behind. "Long time no see."

"Hey, Mer," she said, not taking her eyes off her work.

"You didn't even touch the protein bars Elaine left for you, did you," the younger hunter accused.

"Maybe one or two," the gunsmith said offhandedly.

"Come on, Hunt. We talked about this last time. This isn't healthy."

Hunter actually laughed at this. "Oh, hon, if we were healthy, there'd be none of us doing this job. I did get a couple pizzas if the two of you want to eat, though," she said, nodding her head in the direction of a counter where several boxes of pizza were stacked.

"And will our host be joining us?" Merry pressed.

"Depends."

"Depends on what?" Sam found himself asking, just barely managing to pick his jaw up off the floor before Hunter turned to look at him.

"On whether or not I get my work done."

"What are you working on?" he asked, finding himself drawn by the intensity of her green eyes.

"A winchester," she answered before snapping the barrel off the rifle without even looking at it. Sam couldn't quite help wincing as the gun came apart in her hands. "It's the very last gun that needs cleaning. Though...it seems I have another Winchester to deal with tonight."

"Yes," Sam squeaked, taking a second to clear his throat before starting again. "Yes. Elaine and Merry said you've been working on a new bullet."

"Mm, yes. The gospel. Merry tells me it would have worked were it not for the fact that your brother is...what was it? A Knight of Hell?"

"Yes, but the twins are pretty sure it will be able to kill anything else. Why is that? How does this bullet work, exactly?" Sam pressed, trying very hard not to stare at the gunsmith.

"You think it's that easy, Sam Winchester? Think I'm just gonna _give you_ the secret to blowing away angels and demons? Just like that?" she asked, starting the process of cleaning the rifle while still not looking at it.

"Maybe you don't quite get the situation we're all about to be in, but-"

"Oh, God, Winchester, calm down. I'm just kidding," she said with a chuckle, finally turning her attention to what she was actually working on. "I know who you are. I know you're not going to use my life's work for the wrong reasons. Merry told me everything about what's been happening. Almost seems like it's destiny, me finally perfecting the gospel now...with everything that's about to go down."

"Yeah, sure," Sam said. "Honestly never put much stock in destiny. My first question stands, though. How does the gospel work?"

"Come on, Sam. Stay a while, have a slice of pizza. We'll talk," she said, now completely focused on the pieces of rifle in her hands.

"Just go with it," Merry called over her shoulder as she approached the pizza boxes. "She'll talk when she wants to."

Several minutes later, Sam and Merry were sitting on a couch at the far end of the workshop, in an area that looked a little more lived in than the workshop itself. Merry had already gone through six slices of pizza and Sam was nibbling on his first without much interest, thinking on this very strange gunsmith.

"Are you sure you told her we were coming?" he asked Merry.

"Yeah. Why?"

"I don't know, it's just...most people tend to put clothes on when they've got guests coming," he said, risking another glance back into the work area.

Merry giggled quietly as she watched him. "Oh, Sam, Sam, Sam. Bit distracting is she?"

Sam turned back to glare at Merry. "No. Not like that. It just...threw me, is all."

"Honestly...what you see there probably _is_ what she did to get ready. I'm pretty sure it's normal for her to just work in the nude."

"_What?_" Sam asked, barely managing to keep his voice from squeaking again as his gaze shot back to Hunter. He mentally smacked himself in an effort to keep his thoughts from going there.

"She has this thing about cloth. Most fabrics are too rough for her to wear, so more often than not, she just goes with nothing. Hell, she'd walk around naked if they wouldn't arrest her for it."

"Well, isn't that just...interesting," the younger Winchester said, shoving nearly half the slice into his mouth in an effort to keep his jaw from going slack.

"Wanna see something even more interesting?" Hunter's voice suddenly broke into the conversation. Sam nearly choked on the pizza when he looked up to see her standing just at the entrance to the living area.

"Sure," he said, voice only going slightly high-pitched this time. "What have you got?"

"This," she announced, holding up a cartridge and moving toward them. After handing the round to Sam, she sat down on the floor in front of them.

"The gospel," Sam said softly, looking the round over to see how it compared to other bullets. The cartridge itself appeared to be standard enough, but the bullet itself...that was the interesting part. He couldn't make out the words inscribed into the bullet; they were much too small, but he imagined it was the incantation the twins had been talking about before.

"Fer pacem agnis perditis. Dona requiem dentibus lupi et voca malleum mortis Diabolo te iubeo," Hunter said quietly. "Bring peace to the lost lambs. I bid thee give rest to the fangs of the wolf and call the hammer of death unto the Devil. It's part of the spell that comprises the gospel."

"I know it isn't just a spell that makes this thing tick. What all else is going on here?"

"Well...as you know, the purpose of making bullets out of lead is density. It causes deeper penetration into the target, but of course that isn't important in the type of targets we go after. The necessary part is the materials themselves. Those rounds are composed of a mix of silver and melted down angel blade. They're also hollow point bullets, which allows them to be packed with holy oil and a certain spell."

"What spell?"

"Once the bullet penetrates, the spell causes the slug to melt and the holy oil to ignite, thus allowing the mix to spread throughout the target, killing it. Save for Knights of Hell, and maybe archangels, I feel confident there is _nothing_ these rounds cannot kill," Hunter said as she took the bullet back from Sam.

"Yeah...that definitely sounds workable," Sam said as he considered the science of it. This might just be the solution to their problem. "So you said Merry told you about what's going on?"

Hunter nodded. "She did. All I can say is _finally._"

"Finally what?"

"You really think the whole damn world didn't already know about your brother and his angel? Sometimes it seems like the only ones who didn't know were the two of them. It's just a little depressing that their unresolved sexual tension had to explode in such a big way. So...I gather you'd like me to supply you with rounds to fight this coming war with?" she asked, turning her head sideways as she looked up at him, the braid slipping sinuously over her shoulder. Sam swallowed before nodding.

"Yes, but it's more than that. We'd like you to move shop, transfer all your materials to Lebanon, Kansas. It'll be much safer for you there," he advised her.

Hunter grinned as she swung her head around, indicating the space around them. "I don't know if you've noticed yet, Sam, but I do have a bunker of my own. This old farmhouse is a fortress. I'll be safe here."

"Not against _these_ enemies, you won't be. I'm pretty sure this place could fend off anything else under the sun, but you've never faced a Knight of Hell before. It's trouble you've never known. It would be better to join forces with us."

"So this is something like...consolidating your forces?" Hunter asked him.

"Something like that, yeah. It's better if we all stick together. Plus, we're worried that if Dean finds out about you, you might be his next target. He could turn you into a Knight if he found the right leverage."

Hunter shook her head at this. "No. I don't think he'd be able to pull that off."

"And why is that? He's already done it once."

Again, she shook her head. "No. There's really...no one left that I love. What's he going to do? Kill me? It's not anything I don't deserve," she said as she got to her feet.

"Hey, Hunt, no. Don't say that," Merry protested as she hopped up from the couch and moved to the gunsmith. "Don't throw away what the others gave you. Just...just come back with us."

Hunter stood facing away from them for several minutes before ultimately sighing and nodding. "It'll take me a few days to get everything packed up and properly inventoried."

"That's fine. We'll take guard duty and let you get your work done," Sam offered.

"Sounds like a plan. I take it nobody minds eating pizza until then?"

"Hell, no. I love me some pie!" Merry cheered before going to drag Sam off of the couch. "Come on, Sam. I'll show you where the bunks are."

As Merry dragged him past Hunter, Sam couldn't help glancing back at the gunsmith. She looked back at him with a faint smile on her lips. When Merry led him through another door and out of sight, he couldn't quite help thinking that Hunter probably wasn't going to have any of that pizza.

XxX

The cabin was silent and dark when the angel approached it. It wouldn't have been obvious to any human who came near, but the celestial being could easily sense the energies that flowed through this place. When he walked inside the cabin, the energies only became stronger.

A Seraphim class reaction had been registered in Heaven not two days before and despite the chaos the heavenly plains were in, they knew they couldn't ignore such a massive reaction, so this angel had been sent to investigate.

The remaining traces of energy in the building were so intense, the angel was almost surprised he was able to go on standing. As he followed the lingering lines of power, he was able to get a faint picture of what had occurred, tracing the events through until he reached the cause of the reaction.

Castiel.

At first, all he could see was the reaction itself, the remnants of it were so intense, but as he looked deeper, he began to see something more...something dark and dangerous contained within Castiel's living flame. He couldn't identify it, but he knew it was something horrifying just the same.

_This is Matarael,_ he reported back to his superior. _We've had a confirmed Seraphim class reaction in Keystone, Colorado, but it isn't that we need to be worrying on. Something has happened to Castiel. I do not yet know what. His trace ends here, but Hannah's goes on. I request permission to pursue her in the course of answers to this riddle._

_Permission granted, Matarael. Seek Hannah out and bring her to us._

Matarael nodded as he exited the cabin, running a hand through his vessel's long brown hair. He didn't know what was happening here, but he feared it was something very dangerous...much more dangerous than anything Heaven had ever faced before.

XxX

(A/N) Anyone else tired of these supernatural weapons not being explained? They just kinda show up and they're exactly what you need? Thought I'd try my hand at deconstructing one.


	7. Bring Peace to the Lost Lambs

**The Rose of Sharon**

_Chapter 7: Bring Peace to the Lost Lambs_

Cas had been out for about twenty-four hours now. Lailah hadn't reported any change whenever Elaine checked up on them and the elder angel hadn't left her stricken charge's side. She just sat with him, holding his hand, doing what she could to soothe him when his nightmares got bad. Dorothy seemed to have been asleep for just about that long, most likely in shock...and if she'd been through anything like what Elaine and Merry had been through with Dean, Elaine certainly didn't blame her. As there didn't seem to be anymore information she could glean from the archives, Elaine's only real task at the moment was to keep an eye on Crowley...and seeing as how he wasn't making trouble for once, what was there left to do but make brownies?

Cooking was a skill Elaine had picked up during her time in the foster system. It helped her feel closer to her mother and it helped her feed her chocolate addiction. After all, what was life without chocolate? And of course, the Winchesters didn't keep near enough of it stocked. It wouldn't take her long to eat through the stash Sam had supplied her with, so she'd just have to make more.

"Need someone to lick the spoon, lovely Elaine?" she heard Crowley asking just as she was placing the pan in the oven.

"Already done that, thank you," she snipped without even turning to look at him.

"You know, you haven't asked me in a while," the demon king pointed out as he ventured further into the kitchen.

"No, I haven't," she said as she flurried around the kitchen, cleaning up after herself. "I haven't asked because I know you won't answer. Why should I worry about why you seem to favor me when I know you aren't going to explain it to me?" she asked, still not looking at him.

"Well, maybe times have changed. Perhaps I'm feeling a bit more amenable to explaining myself. Maybe I simply...need you to know at this point," he suggested, pulling up a chair and sitting as he watched her continued bustling. Her movements stilled for only a moment before she launched herself back into the task with vigor.

"So?"

"Oh, but I do love watching you, Elaine...pretending not to care, pretending what I have to tell you hasn't haunted your steps for eight years now."

"If you've got something to say, say it!" she snapped at him. "I'm not here to shoot the shit."

"Right...of course. You've always wondered what sort of deal I want from you and now we've got this squirrelly upstart barking up your tree, so I think it's time we understood each other. Let me just lay it right out and say that you're not like other people."

Finally turning to look at the King of Hell, Elaine faced him with her eyebrows knit together in wary confusion. After a moment of scrutiny, she snapped back with, "Well...isn't that just...special. What are you trying to do? Flirt with me? Completely not interested."

"No, no, of course not. I know _exactly_ where your tastes run, lovely Elaine. _Exactly,_" he repeated, looking at her as if he knew something he shouldn't and the young hunter couldn't help but turn away in disgust. "What I'm trying to say is that you're a whole different breed from these other apes. You and your sister were something entirely new for the crossroads."

"That's such a load of bull. Our mom can't honestly be the only woman who's ever made a deal to get pregnant."

"No, it isn't that. The difference is that when a deal is made, these women normally trade their souls. They have their allotted time with the children they conceive, then the hell hounds come for them, but you and your sister were different. It was an ambitious new deal. Yours was the first soul born for the sole purpose of coming to Hell. You were _born_ to be one of us, Elaine," Crowley told her, keeping his eyes locked on hers as he rose from his chair.

"You...I don't believe you. You're _lying!_" she snarled at him, even though she found herself backing away from him.

"If you don't believe me, why are you so _scared?_" he taunted as he followed her retreat, backing her up against the oven. "Don't like that I'm giving voice to what you've feared all along? That this is what you are? That you're like _me?_" he hissed, getting right up in her face. Elaine squeezed her eyes shut as she turned away from him.

"How would you know anything about my mom's deal?"

"How would I know?" he repeated with a dark chuckle as he drew her face up by the chin, forcing her to look at him. "Who do you think _made_ the deal in the first place?"

For what felt like hours, Elaine just stared at the demon in shock and horror, her mind awash in memories from that night eight years ago.

_"__**Elaine!**__"_

_"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus-"_

_"No! Please! You can't take her! I'll do anything!"_

_"One soul is not equal to another, Rae. I have a lot vested in this deal. It will take more than just __**your**__ soul to break it."_

"You," she whispered in abject horror as he slowly dropped to one knee before her. "It was _you._ You were there."

"Yes," he said as he reached a hand forward, fingers wrapping around her right ankle. She could feel his skin burn against the talon-like scars he'd marked her with on the night of her fourteenth birthday. "Elaine Serra...the scars you bear belong to me."

"You're the one!" Elaine was suddenly screaming, lashing out blindly with two daggers she'd produced from two hidden sheathes. She felt an ugly satisfaction when she felt the blades pierce flesh. "_You're the one!_ My parents! Mom! Dad! I'll make you pay! _I'll make you pay!_" she shrieked. She didn't really become aware of anything but her rage until a strong pair of hands closed around her wrists.

"Stop, Elaine! S_top!_" she vaguely heard Lailah's voice in her ear. "We can't be fighting like this right now."

As the red slowly started to clear from her vision, she started to realize that a portion of the world really _was_ red. She'd bloodied up the King of Hell pretty thoroughly...but as he stood sneering at her, held back by Dorothy, she realized she hadn't hurt him...not really. She'd need her gun for that.

"How did that feel? Good?" he asked, his sneer only growing wider. "You won't kill me. I've told you all along that you're one of mine. This is why. Only _I_ can give you what you need. You wouldn't _exist_ without me. Forgive me for using the most worn cliche in human history, but...in a very real sense...I _am_ your father."

"No," Elaine whispered, feeling Lailah's grip loosen as she fell to her knees, her whole body beginning to tremble.

"Crowley, we're _trying_ to keep a truce here. You have _no right_ to hold this over her head," Lailah snapped at him.

"Nobody has more right to this girl than I do. Oh, but I had grand plans for you, lovely Elaine. I would have made you a princess, but of course Moose and Squirrel just had to stick their people saving, thing hunting noses where they didn't belong. Those plans can become a reality any time you want, though. That offer stands firm. You remember that next time His Royal Bushy Tailness comes knocking," he told her before strolling out of the kitchen whistling the Imperial March.

"Elaine," Lailah began gently as she moved to enfold the young hunter in a warm embrace. "What he said doesn't matter. You know that, don't you, child? How you were born doesn't matter. Only _you_ decide who you are."

Lailah was saying more, but Elaine wasn't really hearing her. All she could manage to do was lean into the embrace...the embrace of a mother...a mother she'd let die eight years ago.

_It's true. I really __**am**__ a...a __**devil girl.**_

XxX

When Sam woke the next morning, it was to the scent of some very strong coffee brewing somewhere nearby. When he sat up in his cot, he saw Merry snoozing fitfully in another cot a few feet away. Deciding it would be better to let her get as much sleep as she possibly could, Sam went off in search of the coffee on his own.

The scent led him back to Hunter's workshop. He couldn't say whether she was still up or up already, but the dark circles under her eyes more suggested she was _still_ up.

"I know Merry's a late riser, but I wasn't sure about you, so I went ahead and got the java going," she said without looking at him, working to get a set of sample casings packed in a box.

"Thank you," he said, taking a moment to eye her worriedly before heading into the living area, where the coffee maker was running. "How do you take it?" he asked as he grabbed two mugs from beside the machine, one with a chip in the rim and a kitten playing with a ball of yarn on the side and one with the word Wicked printed around the side.

"About half cream," she muttered absently, still not looking up.

Sam felt sadly confident that the gunsmith wouldn't drink the coffee even if he made it for her, but he was going to try just the same. He mixed the drink up to her specifications, poured himself a cup, deciding to be gracious and taking the one that was chipped, and carried the two coffees back into the workshop. Hunter was scuttling about the space, packing things in boxes and making notes on a clipboard.

"Did you sleep at all last night?" he asked her, setting her coffee down beside the stack of half-empty pizza boxes.

"I don't sleep much. A little twenty minute catnap at the work table usually does it for me," she said.

"Don't eat, don't sleep. A little unhealthy, isn't it?" he asked. Somehow he didn't think she'd noticed whether or not he'd failed to sound casual.

"I'm still breathing, aren't I? More than a lot of hunters can say. I'm sure Merry's gotten around to mentioning my thing with fabric. That extends to bedding. The less time spent with cloth pressing against my skin, the better. Oh, you picked the kitty mug! That's adorable!" she squealed when she finally turned to look at him. The sudden squeak caused Sam to jump, though, in turn causing him to knock the Wicked mug over, sending hot, milky coffee spilling all over the counter.

"Ah, shit!" he groaned, setting his own mug down on a dry surface. "Do you have a rag anywhere?"

"Right here!" she declared, suddenly popping up from behind a stack of boxes and coming to mop up the liquidy mess. "I wouldn't worry about it too much, though. We'll be out of here in a few days. Stercus accidit."

Sam thought about the phrase a moment before looking down at the woman. "Did you just say 'shit happens' in Latin?" he asked.

"Why yes. Yes, I did," she said, grinning up at him. "Call it a personal motto."

_Okay, that's hot,_ Sam couldn't quite help thinking as he watched her move to toss the dirty rag on top of a pile of growing crap. When he caught himself staring at her in a way he probably shouldn't have been, he quickly tore his eyes away.

"Unfortunately, the only food I have at the moment is the cold pizza, but you can absolutely help yourself if it doesn't bother you."

"Cold pizza, the breakfast of champions," Sam said with a grin.

"Ain't it the truth," she returned, but before she could get back to her work, Sam grabbed her arm as she was walking past.

"Hunter, you're scaring me. I can see your ribs," he told her, locking his eyes onto hers and not letting go. "Please eat something."

"Don't worry," she said, trying to shrug him off. "I'll eat when I'm hungry."

"No, you won't. You're not gonna pull one over on me with that workaholic crap. You think I don't know survivor's guilt when I see it? You're starving yourself, Hunter. I'm guessing you probably haven't eaten for days, maybe even weeks. The only reason you're keeping yourself alive is so you can finish the gospel. So...what happens when it's perfected to your satisfaction? You're just done? You gonna skip out on us?" he demanded.

Hunter sighed as she turned away, not looking at him as she spoke. "People die around me, Sam Winchester. My parents, their friends, my friends...I should think you'd understand that better than anybody. This time...this time I really thought...maybe..._no!_" she cut herself off, wrenching her arm free of his grip. "They died, too. Just like everyone else. What makes you think you and your team are any different?"

"We are," Sam said with total certainty. "Honestly, I'd be impressed if whatever bad mojo you've got going could kill us. We're your best bet at this point."

"Yeah? Well, maybe I'm not willin' to take that chance with humanity's only defense against The Powers That Be. I only have one purpose on this God forsaken planet and that's to make sure the gospel is perfect. Once that's done and you guys have your weapon, there's no reason for me to be here anymore," she insisted, her voice dropping into a slight southern twang as her shoulders tensed with anger.

"Stop it!" Sam snapped at her. "You stop all that bullshit _right now!_ I bust my ass trying to keep people alive and here you are just throwing your life away. I can't just sit around and watch somebody else die!"

Slowly, Hunter turned to look at him again, the smile on her face infinitely sad. "I appreciate the thought, Sam...but you don't know me. Why should it matter to you if I live or die?"

"It doesn't matter if I don't know you. Maybe I want to. Maybe nobody deserves to die alone. That's what you're gunning for here. If you still want to die when all this is over, I'll kill you myself, but right now, we need you. You can die later," he said, the last a low growl deep in his chest. He wasn't completely sure why all this made him so angry. After all, Hunter was right. He _didn't_ know her, not really. Maybe after seeing so many people go down fighting, he couldn't stand to see someone just give up. Whatever the case might have been, he was not going to let this woman die.

Hunter laughed quietly at this. "I'll hold you to that, Winchester," she said before attempting to get back to work.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sam asked her.

"Back to inventorying."

"Not yet, you're not. Going on living requires taking steps to actually make that happen. You need to _eat something,_" he pressed, opening up one of the pizza boxes and grabbing a slice of cold meat lovers pizza, holding it out to her insistently.

Hunter eyed the slice of pizza warily for several moments before moving back toward Sam, slowly taking the cold food in her hands. For several minutes more, she just stared at the pizza, letting the grease stain her fingers before finally biting into it. Tasting, chewing, and swallowing was also a very involved process. Once the gunsmith had finished eating the slice, she shrugged, not quite looking at him.

"It's good," she mumbled absently.

"Good," Sam said, nodding in relief. It wasn't much, but it was something.

XxX

Olivia and Kaoru were both relieved to receive instruction from Crowley after hearing of what had gone down in Hell. For a few days, no one had quite known what had happened to the king, but he managed to get them instruction to hold their current position, which was why they found themselves sitting in a car outside a motel in Phoenix, Arizona, spying on the angel who was currently in residence.

"Think this angel bitch even _can_ solve these riddles?" Kaoru wondered out loud as he kicked his feet up on the dash. Having his own particular preference, he'd taken a meat suit of Japanese ancestry - a young man with a propensity for pyrotechnics.

"Couldn't say. Not really our place to wonder about it, though. All we really need to do is keep track of her, step in incase anything gets in the way. Mostly I'm just pissed at these winged bastards' presumption," Olivia said, eyeing Hannah somewhat angrily through the window of her motel room. She had no preference in suits herself, but Crowley'd had specific requirements for the one she took: tall and skinny with blue eyes and short, dyed black hair. With the wardrobe of cowboy boots, a short black skirt, a fiery orange top, and a mini leather jacket, it all added up to a look that very greatly resembled her when she'd been human..._before_ she'd gone to Hell.

"Well...technically they aren't _winged_ bastards anymore. They've all lost their wings," Kaoru pointed out with no small sense of satisfaction.

"And it's no more than they deserve. Good for those goody-goods to see how everyone else does it for a change."

"Didn't know you had such a major beef with angels."

"I didn't...not until recently, anyway."

Kaoru might have asked her more at that one, except that was the moment she sat up straight in the driver's seat.

"Oh, no more time for chit-chat. Looks like it's time to go play hero."

XxX

Hannah couldn't imagine where the thought came from, but she suddenly found herself feeling very sympathetic toward the Winchesters. In the middle of working a case, it must surely be hideously annoying to have to stop for things like eating and sleeping. Even though she didn't need to do these things herself, granting her infinitely more time and focus to dedicate to her work, she still wasn't much closer to solving Metatron's riddles.

She had the fairy dust, much to her own self-loathing, and she knew what the first, fourth, and sixth items were, but the final three were still a mystery to her. Even when she did have them all figured out, she would still need a method to obtain each item. The gun was proving difficult to obtain and the sixth item would also have its difficulties. At the moment, the fourth item seemed like the most sensible to pursue, but it would require a confrontation with Dean Winchester. Would it be best to pursue the item...or to figure out the remaining riddles first?

"Hannah?" a voice suddenly called out to her. She started, looking up to see Matarael standing in her doorway. She'd been so fixated on her research, she hadn't even noticed the approach of his energy.

"Matarael...what are you doing here?"

"You haven't reported in for many weeks. We know you were present at Keystone when the reaction occurred. What happened?"

"I have the situation well in hand. Heaven does not need to intervene," she insisted as she turned away from him, trying to be casual, trying not to show how afraid she was. If Matarael discovered Castiel's secret...

"You are lying," the hulking angel declared firmly, moving further into the room. "What? Happened?" he repeated slowly, grey eyes fixed unerringly on hers.

"I told you, I'm handling it."

"Even as it is now, I hope you don't believe Heaven is blind, Hannah. Something has happened, and once again, it seems to center on Castiel. There is something dark inside of him. Whatever it is, I fear it may destroy us all."

"I know," Hannah said quietly. "Castiel is in grave danger, but the course I am set upon may be able to save him."

"Hannah, _please._ Tell me what has happened. We all work toward the same goal. Let us help you," Matarael pressed, drawing all the closer to her. Hannah moved back until she could go no further, coming up against the back wall of the room.

"Perhaps we _do_ work toward the same goal, but I cannot take the risk that you might resolve this matter in a drastic way. I will only ask that you allow me to handle it."

"I have asked you already to divulge what you know. Do you defy the will of Heaven?"

"I defy nothing, Matarael, for there is nothing to defy. Heaven is in disarray. Allow me to carry out this mission in the name of what Heaven is _meant_ to stand for," she pleaded with him.

"I have already asked for your compliance. If you will not give it, you leave me no choice but to take you by force. Whatever is happening here, I cannot allow this darkness to spread unchecked. You _will_ return with me to Heaven. I will _make_ you," he said, calling his angel blade to his hand. Hannah had called down her own blade when a new voice suddenly joined the struggle.

"Oi! Featherhead!" The two angels looked up to see two demons standing in the doorway. The woman was the one who had spoken. "If you want Missy Angel, you're gonna have to go through us," she declared, an angel blade of her own in hand.

Matarael quickly moved to engage the female demon in battle, but as they fought, the man moved in toward Hannah. When she looked at him, she could see a vial of blood clutched in his fist. Immediately, he began to use the blood to draw a sigil on the wall next to her.

"What are you-"

"Give me your hand," the demon snapped, taking her hand without waiting for consent and slamming her palm against the sigil. In a flash of white light, Matarael was gone.

"Wow," the female demon said with a sigh as she wiped blood from a cut on her forehead. "Even after all the time spent on the run down here, you don't have the sense to even _try_ to hide from your fellow angels? You aren't going to get very far at this rate."

"Why would you help me?" Hannah finally got herself to ask, still holding her blade at the ready. "Why not banish me, too?"

"We didn't want you banished. After all, all your research is here."

"But why would you _care?_ If Crowley sent you, you can go right back and tell him he'll get none of the items from me. I'll still want that gun of his."

"Oh? The way you said that...does that mean you've got some of the items already?" the male demon asked with interest.

"That's none of your affair, demon," she snapped at him, though she was certain her frustration at having given even that much away spoke the truth louder than anything she could say.

"No, that's pretty much what our affair is right now...keeping track of you...seeing nothing gets in your way," the woman explained.

"You mean...the King of Hell _wants_ to see this ritual happen?"

"The King of Hell wants to keep his options open just now. Really, we'll just have to wait and see. Don't think you can hide from us, either. We'll be watching. Kaoru and I were chosen very specifically for this assignment."

"Why? What's so special about you?"

The woman threw back her head and laughed at this before fixing the angel with a particularly cruel stare.

"Look inside, angel...into the mind of the woman you inhabit. You'll find that she knows me."

Hannah reached back into the memories of her vessel, easily finding a description that somewhat resembled the woman standing before her, but even that tiny flicker of recognition was enough to cause the woman to come awake within her.

"Olivia?" her mouth whispered without her permission.

Again, the demon laughed. "Yeah, Hannah, it's me. It's been a long time, hasn't it. Keep your eyes peeled. We'll be chatting again real soon...big sister," she said with a sneer. Then she and Kaoru were gone.

Even though she was in control once again, Hannah could still feel the reeling emotions of her vessel. Olivia shouldn't be here. She shouldn't be here because she was dead. She'd been killed two years ago...dragged away by Hell hounds. This was the reason Crowley had sent this particular demon against her. The revelation of what had become of her sister would break her vessel...tear her apart and unmake her from within. Even though the vessel's soul shouldn't have affected her at all, Hannah could already feel the horror building up inside of her, threatening to overtake her. How long could she reasonably hope to function with such awful anguish building up inside of her?

XxX

_Cas feels he's spent years trapped in the dark watching Dean die before his eyes. He's felt himself go insane with every drop of blood shed...but all of that comes to an end with a single mumbled word._

_"Cas?"_

_Shocked, the angel looks up to see Dean sitting up in bed, completely free of blood and injury. Immediately, he slams both hands against the invisible barrier that separates them._

_"Dean!" he cries out desperately._

_The Righteous Man slowly looks himself over, eyes roving over every inch of blessed, unmarred flesh before looking up at the angel with fear in his eyes._

_"Are you dead?" he asks, and it hurts Castiel to hear the pain in his voice._

_"No," he whispers, feeling tears prick at his eyes even as he struggles to comfort the hunter._

_"I...I think __**I**__ am," he says quietly, smiling sadly at the angel._

_"No. You __**can't**__ be," Cas hisses, something inside him twisting in grief and agony as he remembers the moment Metatron told him of Dean's death._

_**"Ultimately, it was all about saving one human, right? Well, guess what. He's dead, too."**_

_"He said...he was gonna kill you...you and Sammy. I didn't know what to do," Dean says, burying his face in his hands. "I couldn't beat him."_

_"Metatron," Cas says softly, slowly coming to the realization that this Dean has no knowledge of the events that have transpired since his awakening as a demon. This is the Dean Winchester that remains...imprisoned within the Mark of Cain's influence. This is the man he loves._

_"Cas...what happened? Why am I still here? You're really...not dead?"_

_"Dean, you must listen to me. I'm here. I'm right here. I'm not hurt," he lies, not certain he can bear telling Dean what's happened between them. "I am safe. Sam is safe. We're going to save you."_

_"Save me from what?" Dean asks, suddenly getting to his feet, his features twisted with his own personal blend of anger and fear. "Cas, what happened?"_

_"I tried to stop it. I tried to save you," the angel whispers in agony, turning away from Dean. "I would have given my life to keep you safe."_

_"What happened, Cas?!" Dean demands, beginning to storm toward the barrier, but he is held back just as solidly as Castiel is. Almost immediately, he begins to beat his fists against the barrier. "What the fuck is this? Cas! What's going on?!"_

_"It's no use," the angel answers, his shoulders slumping in misery. "We can't get through."_

_"Cas! __**Cas!**__" he cries out, his pounding and shouting becoming all the more desperate._

_"I'm sorry, Dean. I'm so sorry," he says, his fingers curling into fists against the strange wall of glass, but before another word can be exchanged, the glass is shattering and Dean is collapsing into his arms. _

_"Dean? Dean! Are you all right?" Cas shouts, but as he cradles the hunter in his ams, the man's shoulders begin to shake. He's __**laughing.**_

_"So what were you gonna tell him?" Dean asks as he looks up at him, eyes black once more. "Would you have told him about all the fun we had? About how much __**better**__ his life is now I've taken over? Or do you think it's __**kinder**__ not to let him see what he is?"_

_"Stop it," Cas hisses as he looks away from the demon, tears pouring steadily down his face as Dean wraps his arms around him, cradling him against his chest...strangely gentle for the violence in his voice._

_"Forget about him, Angelface. That Dean's gone. He's dead and buried. __**I'm**__ your lover now, so you'd better get used to it," he growls, pressing a possessive kiss to the pulse point in Cas' neck._

_"No, he isn't," Cas says quietly._

_"Isn't what?" he demands._

_"He isn't gone. Don't say he's gone," the angel says, eyes gazing blearily up through the darkness, toward the absent Heaven. "He lives in you. So long as you exist, he will __**never**__ be gone. I __**am**__ going to save you, Dean...whether you like it or not," he insists, focusing his gaze back on the demon._

_"Wish you'd shut up about that," Dean snarled as he shoved him away. "What would you do if the demon really __**was**__ all that was left? Would you still love me...Cas?" he asks, and the way he says it...the vulnerable single syllable of the familiar nickname...it almost breaks the angel._

_"I will love Dean Winchester until the last star burns itself out in the heavens. Nothing will ever change that. You will __**never**__ be past saving, Dean, so don't try to convince me otherwise," he says firmly. He believes this, but that doesn't mean the demon's words don't plant a certain seed of fear inside him._

_"On and on like a broken record," the demon mocks, easily falling back into the ruthless, heartless persona. "What do I have to do to convince you? Do I need to wipe out a city? Take out a hospital? Kill a kid?" he suggests callously, and Castiel can't help the tremor of fear that runs down his spine at this. "Well, get ready for hell on earth, Angelface. I'm through beatin' around the kids table. The games are just gettin' started. Here's lookin' at you, kid," he says with a wink._

Still grinning at the anguished look the angel had given him, Dean found himself blinking awake in a four poster bed.

"What the hell?" he muttered as he slowly sat up. Within moments, Charlie was bursting through the door.

"That'd be my question, too. About damn time you woke up, Winchester. I've had to feed the grunts some bs about Knights of Hell needing to replenish their power. Your power base is hanging pretty precarious down here, man. What the fuck have you been doing all week?" the redhead demanded.

"All...week?" the would-be king muttered in confusion, reaching unconsciously for the First Blade. Relief surged through him when his fingers curled around the weapon, lying right beside him.

"That's right, Fuzzy. You've been out for the better part of a week. Wanna clue me in here?"

"Honestly...I got no idea. I just felt totally drained and...then nothin'. Whatever it is, it's got somethin' to do with the angel," he said as he swung his legs over the side of the bed.

"How so?"

"I dunno...but we're gonna find out."

XxX

When Cas snapped awake from the nightmare, he shot straight up in bed, breathing hard.

"Dean," he whispered.

"Castiel," he heard Lailah exclaim, looking to his side to see the elder angel sitting beside his bed. He hadn't realized it before, but he was gripping her hand almost impossibly tight in his. As he blinked at her in confusion, she reached a hand forward to feel his forehead. "How are you feeling? Are you all right?"

"Why...why would I not be?" he asked slowly. Now that he thought about it, he felt like he'd slept for a hundred years. He felt very well rested, better than could reasonably be expected, given the current situation. What was wrong now?

"Castiel, you...you've been unconscious for five days," she told him.

"Five...five _days?_" he repeated in shock. Granted, the nightmare had felt much _longer_ than that, but he was aware that time worked differently in dreams. In human time, five days was a long time to be unable to account for. "What happened?"

"I believe it is connected to Dean and the little one. As I said, she will grant you power far beyond what you've ever experienced before, but that energy must still be paid for. If either you or Dean use too much power without rest, you will both pay for it," she explained.

"I don't believe I was using any power when it happened...so it must have been something Dean was doing," Cas mused as he swung his legs over the side of the small bed.

"It was. Crowley barely managed to escape the confrontation alive. Your Dean is probably waking up right now, as well."

"What's been happening? Have Sam and Merry returned yet?"

"Not yet. They should be returning with Hunter Silver sometime late tomorrow night."

"The sooner they return, the better. I fear Dean may be on the war path after what happened," he said, running his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"Castiel...what _did_ happen?" Lailah asked him gently, reaching for his hand once again.

For a moment, Castiel considered not telling her the truth. He was afraid of just how much of his heart he would reveal by saying what he _thought_ he'd seen...but no. He couldn't begin this alliance with lies or half truths. He just couldn't do that anymore.

"I think...I might have seen Dean. Not the demon, but the real Dean Winchester," he struggled to explain before Lailah could interrupt him. "I don't know how strong it is, but part of the man that was still exists somewhere within the demon. I'd suspected it before, but this is the first time I've actually seen it. It was really _him,_ Lailah."

XxX

"Well...I don't know how we did it, but we actually managed to pack your entire workshop into a Jeep and a truck," Sam said as he glanced around the now empty lab area. Merry was leaning against the door that led up to the old farmhouse and Hunter was standing in the middle of the empty space looking very pleased with herself.

"You know how it is, man. Always gotta be ready to get on the road and go," she said. She'd donned slightly more clothing for the drive to Kansas: a satin lavender top that flared outward, barely touching her skin. Interestingly enough, though, it seemed she was going to remain barefoot. Sam hadn't seen her in shoes once since he'd been here.

"And you double-checked everything?" Sam asked as he moved into the living area. What little there had been had been packed up already, so glancing around wasn't too difficult. "Not forgetting anything?"

"Nope. If you two are ready, we can hit the road...maybe hit up the local diner before we head out for the night."

Hunter might have said more, but Sam didn't fully notice. What he did notice was a closet door he hadn't properly seen before, maybe hidden by a stack of boxes or some such. Whatever the case may have been, he noticed it now and he moved forward to pull the door open.

"Stay out of there!" Hunter snapped at him, but she was already too late. Sam had seen what was inside.

"No way," he murmured in awe when his eyes landed on the guitar case. "You play?" he asked as he pulled the dusty case out of the closet.

"Maybe...a little...a long time ago. I haven't looked at that thing in years," Hunter mumbled bitterly.

"She's brilliant," Merry argued as she stood up from the door. "But she wasn't lying about the whole 'it's been years' thing. You should get her to sing sometime."

"Well...if you haven't played in a while, why do you keep it? You could have sold it," Sam suggested.

"Maybe that's what I'm doin' now. Gettin' rid of it. It's stayin' here. The demons can smash it to pieces for all I care," she ground out, voice once again dropping into the slight twang as her anger mounted.

"Yeah? Well maybe I don't-" Sam's voice immediately died in his throat when the lights in the room began to flicker. "Shit."

"Guess we got no time to argue. Let's get this moveable feast goin'," Hunter said, gesturing Merry to the side so she could open the door. What she found on the other side, though, was not the expected route to freedom. No, it was something else entirely.

"Hey, gang," Dean called jovially as he entered the work room. "How are things in the saving people, hunting things business?"

Fully aware of just what Dean was, none of them wasted any time asking how he could enter this demon proof room. The three hunters just drew their guns and aimed at the would-be demon king, all of them locked and loaded with gospel rounds.

"Are we really gonna do this?" Dean asked them. He had his hands raised in the air, but the First Blade was gripped tightly in one of them. "You guys know your shots aren't gonna kill me, yeah?"

"Maybe not, but it'll still hurt like fuck," Hunter announced boldly, keeping the demon in her sights.

"Oh," Dean started slowly as he turned to look at her. "Guess you'll be the one who designed that nasty piece a' work little miss Merry shot me with. Must have been a real disappointment for you, learnin' there was still one thing on the god damn planet you couldn't kill. After all, what else are you here for?" he taunted her as he drew closer. "You had _one job,_ Hunter. Couldn't even do that."

"_Dean!_" Sam snarled at his brother, seeing the way Hunter was fighting to keep her hands from trembling. "Leave her alone!"

The demon just laughed at him, smirking as he watched Sam re-aim his gun. "Heheh, standin' up for the loser. That is so you, Sammy. Bet you've had heart to heart pep talks with this one, too."

"Leave them alone, Dean," Sam repeated. "If you want to whale on someone, whale on me."

Again, the demon laughed. "Oh, Sammy boy, you can't imagine how much I want to, but it's not the right time. You're not _ripe_ yet."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"You'll find out soon enough. I didn't really come here for you, though finding you here with the gun lady and my little fuck buddy is definitely an added bonus."

"Stop it!" Sam snarled, focusing on Dean...not wanting to see Merry react to those words. "If you're not here for us, why did you come?"

"For the angel, of course," he said with a smirk. "Y'see, I've been missin' him real bad and I was hopin' we could have another go-"

"It is _so_ important to the future that you not finish that sentence," Sam interrupted. Just because he'd been rooting for his brother and the angel of the lord for several years didn't mean it was something he actually wanted to think about. It would take years to scrub away the mental images. "Besides, as you can see, Cas isn't here."

"We'll see about that," he said. Then with a snap of his head, he sent the three of them flying back against the wall, pinning them solidly with nothing more than his own power. As they struggled against the hold, the demon slowly approached Merry, leering at her as he reached out a hand to stroke the side of her face. Merry closed her eyes, knowing she could do nothing to stop this, but still struggling all the harder.

"_Don't touch her!_" Sam screamed at his brother.

Dean just smirked as he leaned in close to breathe in the scent of Merry's hair.

"We had so much fun last time. Ready for round two?"

"See how much you like me when I'm not tied up, shithead," Merry hissed at him, trying to be brave, but she still wasn't looking at him.

"Hey, Angelface!" Dean called out, wincing as he looked up at the ceiling. "It was such a fuckin' turn on for you when I prayed to you before, so get your feathery ass over here. Show me how hot that makes you, Castiel!"

Squeezing his eyes tightly shut, Sam also offered up a desperate prayer.

_Don't answer, Cas. Whatever you do, don't you fucking answer him! You stay right where you are. __**Don't answer!**_

XxX

Cas knew Lailah was speaking to him, but once again when he heard Dean praying to him, his ears seemed to stop functioning. All he could hear was Dean's voice.

"Dean?" he whispered.

_I'm guessin' that was no ordinary dream you and me just had. You had somethin' to do with me bein' asleep for a week. Wanna come to Virginia and talk about it?_

_Dean, I...I can't,_ he responded, just barely remembering his promise to Sam. _We have nothing to say to each other._

_Angel, if you don't get your fine ass over here now, I'm gonna start killin' people,_ he warned him.

"You've got Sam and Merry," Cas said out loud as he got to his feet, pacing the room anxiously.

_Uh-huh. I'll start with the girl...and I'll finish her __**real**__ slow._

_What would you have me do? I __**can't**__ come to you, Dean. I __**cannot do it.**__ My wings are torn. I do not have that power anymore,_ he argued desperately. He wanted to rescue Sam and the others. He wanted to stop this from happening, but he couldn't fly anymore. By the time he managed to reach Remington, it would be far too late.

_I think we both know that's not true. You did it the first time I called you,_ Dean pointed out.

_I told you before. I don't know how that happened. It wasn't me._

_Even if that's true, I think you __**can**__ get here. You've got power...just like me. So fucking __**use**__ it!_

_Dean, please,_ he tried to argue, but the moment the demon had planted the thought in his mind, it was already bearing fruit, already ripening into a wish. It was what he wanted...to have his wings back...to be able to fly to Sam and Dean as fast as he could...and that wish was heard.

Castiel felt the celestial energy emanate from his daughter before he could protest. He cried out in shock as he felt it circulate through both his vessel and his celestial form. He heard Lailah shouting somewhere behind him, but he couldn't focus on what she was saying. Consumed by sudden agony, he collapsed to his knees, screaming and clutching his head in pain.

Fire shot through every atom of his being, pooling at his shoulder blades and flaring out into existence as a blazing set of wings. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he imagined it must have been something like this when he first came into being. When the energy finally settled, he was left lying on the floor, trembling with the aftershocks of the transformation.

"Oh...Castiel," Lailah exalted. "They're beautiful."

Cas couldn't do much more than lie there, exhausted. He was certain they _were_ beautiful, but he could also feel how _different_ his new wings were from what had once been. He could feel them fluttering faintly against his back in the dimension where his true form existed, and he could feel how they thrummed with dark and divine fire. As with Dean, he found them both beautiful and terrifying.

"Are you all right?" Lailah asked as she knelt beside him. Slowly, he shook his head.

"It...is not of import," he muttered as he struggled to his feet. She was right there beside him, helping him to stand. "I need to go. They need my help."

"Castiel, no. You can't seriously be thinking of going out there in this state. You'll be playing right into his hands."

"I know that," he said as he moved away from her, swaying briefly before managing to stand on his own, "but it does not matter. Sam and Merry will die without my help." Then, with a brief fluttering of wings, he was gone, and not a second later, Crowley, Elaine, and Dorothy all arrived at the doorway.

"Where did he go?" Crowley asked.

XxX

Dean had to admit he was almost disappointed when he heard the faint flutter of wings, but that mild disappointment disappeared when he remembered that it meant he'd get to be with the angel again. He smirked as he turned to greet him.

"Hello, Dean," the angel said softly when their eyes met.

"See, Angelface? I knew you could do it," he returned, eyeing Castiel's new wings appreciatively.

"No...Cas, _no!_" Sam growled as he struggled against Dean's hold on him. "Get out of here!"

"You wish to speak with me," Castiel said, pointedly shutting out Sam's anger and despair.

"Yeah. Maybe a bit more than that," Dean said, continuing to eye him up and down.

"Dean, it's me you want. Let the others go," Castiel said firmly.

"Aw, you don't want 'em to _watch?_" the demon mock-pouted, winking at the angel with all the considerable amount of lust that was in him.

"Let them go," Castiel repeated without even batting an eyelash. Finally, the demon sighed.

"All right, fine. I guess I can do that much," he said, releasing the three humans from his grip and allowing their bodies to crash to the floor.

"Sam, get the others out of here," Cas ordered, keeping his eyes fixed on Dean's the entire time.

"Cas, no! You can't just-"

"Hunter Silver must survive. Everything depends on it. Take her to safety _now._ I will deal with this," the angel said, still not looking away from the demon. "Trust me."

Sam looked utterly torn as he pulled himself to his feet, but ultimately he growled in frustration and went to help Hunter to her feet. "Fine, but if you die, I'm gonna kill you both!" he snapped at him.

"Noted," Cas said, watching the three disappear up the stairs.

"I hope you don't think it's _safe_ up there," Dean said with a sneer. "I've got this place surrounded. Charlie's waitin' to lead the charge."

"I'm aware. Sam and the others are equipped to deal with anything that might be up there, though," Cas explained as the two of them began to circle each other.

"Oh, yeah. Those special new bullets. Tell me, these gospels, are they really as important as all that? You said that little bitch had to survive. That's gonna be a real kicker, seein' as how she's only a few days from seein' the reaper at her shoulder. What's so important about those things?" he asked, scratching the back of his neck with the First Blade.

"It isn't only demons these bullets can kill. If Hunter has done her work correctly, they will also be able to kill angels."

"And why do you need to kill angels? What did you do this time? Oh, no, wait. I get it. They're not happy you and me got it on. Is that it?" Dean asked, his leer growing all the wider.

"Perhaps," Cas said quietly. That would certainly be true if and when Heaven found out.

"Well, I can see where they'd be pissed if you've been seein' anything like the power spikes I've been havin'. I guess that's how you managed to break through the angel proofing on this place," he said as he circled closer and closer.

"Yes," the angel said, moving closer right along with him. It hadn't been easy, but something had guided him through the power of the sigils, allowing him to bypass them.

"So is all this really just the result of me bangin' you? 'Cuz I gotta say, I'm havin' trouble swallowin' that. This can't really be the first time in history an angel and a demon have gotten it on."

"It isn't...but you and I are different. _You _are different," Cas tried to explain, looking into Dean's eyes while struggling _not_ to reveal how painful this was. The demon just smirked, though. They were right up against each other now, circling in a dance of danger and desire.

"Why? Because you _love_ me?" he taunted, licking his lips as he eyed Castiel's own.

"If you do not already know, I cannot explain it to you. The reason exists within you...and within me. It's the only logical explanation for our strengthening abilities," Cas said. It was technically true; it just wasn't the whole truth. He wasn't ready to reveal the whole truth to Dean. Even if he was, he just couldn't risk their daughter's safety. He had no way of knowing how Dean would react. He would keep this secret as long as he could.

"In that case, we might just have to do it again," Dean suggested as he reached out a hand to run it along one of Castiel's new wings. "These are so fuckin' sexy, Angelface," he whispered in his ear just before leaning down to press a harsh kiss to the angel's neck.

Cas inhaled sharply at the intimate contact. He could feel each feather flaring beneath Dean's expert touch. With only a few simple strokes, he was already responding to Dean...in both body and spirit. The demon chuckled quietly against his neck, the vibration of it traveling straight to his groin.

"Hngh...Dean," he groaned quietly, unable to help himself.

"Hot damn, but you want this bad, don'tcha, Castiel," he said just before mouthing Cas' collarbone through his shirt. The angel almost didn't notice when he began to undo the buttons.

"I don't...deny it," Cas ground out when Dean pressed a hot, demanding kiss to his newly bared chest. "I...hate myself for it...but I've wanted this for too long," he hissed, digging his fingers into Dean's shoulders as the demon kissed a fiery trail from his chest, down his stomach, and finally to his belt. Dean groaned in pleasure as he snapped the belt open. The zipper followed not long after.

"Knew you couldn't resist me," the demon growled quietly as he got back to his feet, reaching a hand between Cas' legs and squeezing. The angel cried out as Dean shoved him back against the wall, feeling himself grow completely hard in the demon's hand. "You just can't stay away, can you."

"Maybe...maybe not..._oh!_" he gasped as Dean ran his thumb roughly along the length of him. "Unh...Dean...please..."

"Heh, always knew there was a slut hidin' somewhere in that pretty, virgin angel," he said as he slowly moved to his knees before Cas, casting smoldering eyes up at him as he drew out his cock, continuing to stroke it all the while.

"Ah...hngh...Dean..._oh!_" he groaned, hips twitching involuntarily against the demon's hand. He wasn't sure how much of this he could take before coming completely undone.

"I'd tell you to shut up, but y'know, I gotta say...I _really_ like hearin' you scream for me, angel. You got no idea how long I waited to hear that voice...completely _wrecked,_" he growled. When he darted out his tongue for a single quick lick up the angel's length, Castiel very nearly screamed. Were it not for Dean holding him up, his legs probably would have given way beneath him.

If Dean spoke after that, it was completely lost to Castiel. When the former hunter closed his lips around the tip of his cock, the angel was set adrift on sensations of moist heat and intense pleasure. Sometimes he found himself gripping skin, other times hair, but most of the time, it was just a sloppy mashup of tongue, teeth, and thrusting. Every time Dean bobbed his head up and down Cas' hard cock, he found his breath coming shorter and shorter. Close...close...closer...so close...sweat Heaven, he was almost there!

Then, with one last thrust, something inside of him burst and he was spilling down Dean's throat, screaming his name in absolute ecstasy. For a brief, perfect moment, his body was arcing away from the wall and he was standing on the tips of his toes, caught in the grip of the orgasm. He wasn't fully aware of coming down from that perfect height, but the next thing he _was_ aware of was leaning against the wall, having fallen to his knees. Both of his forms were still trembling with the aftershocks of the climax. He was just barely aware of Dean pressing up against him, whispering in his ear.

"Told you I could make you scream, pretty angel," he said, sucking on his earlobe a moment before pulling back.

Castiel wasn't certain how long he lay there, fighting to surface from beneath the waves of bliss, but he waited until he was ready. After all, he would need all of his wits about him for what he was planning.

"It seems only right...I should return the favor," he said, locking his eyes on Dean's. The demon quirked up an eyebrow in interest.

"Gonna fall into temptation with me, Angelface? Didn't know it was gonna be this easy to corrupt you. I'm almost disappointed. But hell, if you're offerin'..." he said, voice trailing off as he got to his feet, pushing Cas back against the wall. "Go ahead and _blow me,_ angel."

At first, Castiel wasn't sure what to do. He could see the distinct bulge of the demon's stiffening member beneath the fabric of his jeans, but he just couldn't make himself do anything. He desired Dean, of course, but he just didn't have the experience he did. He didn't know how to 'make this good.' How was he supposed to bring himself to do this?

_You __**must**__ do this,_ he reminded himself. _It's the only way._

Finally managing to steel himself, Castiel reached forward and tore open Dean's belt and pants. Then he slowly drew out his hard cock, hesitantly running his fingers over the heated, swollen flesh. Briefly, he puffed out his cheeks before leaning forward and swirling his tongue around the bulbous head. Almost immediately, Dean was groaning, one hand fisting in Cas' hair while the other arm kept him propped against the wall.

"That's it, angel baby. Just like that," the demon encouraged, moaning as his hips rolled against Cas' face, near choking him when the length was forced nearly down his throat. With a choked cough, Cas tried to back off, but Dean held him there, forcing him to continue.

Cas couldn't perform the same head motions Dean had done earlier. All he could really manage was to hold as much of Dean's prick in his mouth as he could and just suck on it. Dean didn't seem to mind his limitations, though. He just continued to writhe above him, moaning obscenities as he thrust his hips back and forth.

"Oh, yeah..._aw, yeah_," the demon groaned, just on the verge of spilling over. "Come on, baby. We're...almost..."

Finally, Dean came with a harsh cry...and when he tried to hold Cas' head in place to force him to swallow, the angel wrenched his head away, causing the demon to come across his bare chest instead. In that exact moment, Castiel reached for the First Blade, which Dean had looped to his belt. Just as soon as he'd yanked the weapon free, he rolled away, instantly shifting to the other side of the empty workshop.

Dean laughed as he turned to face him, trying to sound casual, but Cas could still see the sudden tension in his shoulders.

"All right, Angelface, that was a good trick, but play time's over. Give it back."

"I don't think so, Dean. You won't be doing much advancing of your regime without this weapon."

"You don't honestly think this is gonna stop me killin' people, do you? I can slaughter untold millions just fine without it," Dean mocked, trying to make the theft seem like less than it was.

"I don't imagine such a thing for even a moment. I can't stop you from killing...but I _can_ stop you from creating more Knights of Hell. You can't do that without the First Blade, so I think it will be staying with me for the time being."

"Castiel, I swear, if you don't give the blade back to me right this minute, I'm gonna start wipin' cities off the map. Don't think I won't!" he snarled at him, eyes starting to flicker black as he stalked toward Castiel.

"You, Dean, will have much bigger problems when your flock learns you've lost the First Blade. We'll see how that turns out for you," Cas said right before flying away. As he winged his way to the next fight, he could still hear Dean's enraged shriek in his ears.

_I'll kill you for this, Castiel! __**I'll kill you!**_

XxX

(A/N) Well, I suppose this chapter was a bit longer than others, but I certainly hope you didn't want me to stop before the boys got their play, heheh.


	8. A Mother's Prayer

**The Rose of Sharon**

_Chapter 8: A Mother's Prayer_

As Sam pounded up the stairs into the farmhouse with Merry and Hunter close behind, he knew perfectly well they weren't heading to safety. There was no way Dean was just letting them walk away. This was confirmed when they hit the front door and looked out to see a gang of at least twenty demons surrounding the Jeep. At the head of the group was Charlie, waiting eagerly for them to step out of the house.

"Well...this does complicate matters, now doesn't it," Hunter said with a long suffering sigh.

"Ready to come out and play, Sam?" Charlie called out to him. "This gang hasn't been topside in a couple decades. They're just _itching_ to tear out some entrails!"

"Damn it," Sam muttered under his breath. Even if he knew the gospels wouldn't kill Charlie, he still wasn't sure he could bring himself to shoot her. Would it affect her body later when they attempted to cure her?

"Well, we don't want them to have the bullets and we don't want them to have Hunter, but we _definitely_ don't want them to have them both together," Merry said.

"Separate the lock from the key?" Hunter suggested. "You take my truck and Sam and I can take the Jeep...assuming we can get to it, of course," she said, holding out her keys to Merry, who immediately swapped them for her own. The truck was still off in a side shed that connected to the house around back. Presumably the demons hadn't found it yet.

"Just what I was thinking," Merry said with a grin.

"So we see how many we can take down and make our getaway," Sam said, gaze shifting between his fellow hunters and the current obstacle. He didn't much like the idea of Merry going off by herself, but he felt certain Hunter had happened upon the same line of thinking he had. The younger hunter had a much better chance of making it through if she could get to the truck. Hunter was signing herself up to be a banquet by taking the route through the front door and she'd need as much help as she could get. Therefore he would stick with her. Either she or the truck had to make it out of Remington in one piece.

Nodding to each other, the three hunters took up positions: Sam at the front door and Hunter and Merry at windows on both sides. The demons had spread out into a semi circle surrounding the front of the farmhouse.

"You've got one chance to back off, Charlie!" Sam called out to her, weapon aimed at the demon who stood beside her. "Your stunt demons aren't gonna like what they find in here!"

Charlie just laughed at this. Then she raised a hand and signaled forward. Five of her lackeys immediately jumped on the command.

"Fer pacem agnis perditis!" Hunter began at Sam's left.

"Dona requiem dentibus lupi!" Sam took up the call.

"Et voca malleum mortis Diabolo te iubeo!" Merry finished. All three of them fired at once, taking down three of the oncoming demons. Hunter and Sam took down the other two as the first three dropped to their knees, fire spreading through each meat suit and burning them all to ashes. The last two were not far behind.

"Works like a charm," Hunter said with a grin, kissing the muzzle of her pistol.

"Anyone else wanna try it!" Merry challenged the suddenly apprehensive looking band of demons. For a moment that was both painful and nostalgic, Sam was reminded of Dean, because of _course_ Merry would antagonize the gang of demons who wanted to kill them.

"There's no way you can hit all of us!" Charlie shouted back after clearly taking a moment to shake off her own uncertainty. Before she could give the command, though, something else happened.

Crowley was suddenly standing on the front porch of the farmhouse, shaking his head slowly.

"You don't want to be doing that, love. I've got you just as surrounded," he announced.

"There's no way. I doubt you even _have_ that many demons still loyal to you," Charlie fired back at him.

"Oh, no? Let's play a little war game, then, shall we," the demon king said, and at some unseen signal a fresh swarm of demons appeared out of the darkness, falling upon Charlie's rapidly dwindling posse.

Crowley grinned as he watched the sudden outbreak of carnage. Then he called to Sam over his shoulder, "You might want to be getting out of here about now."

"Why are you doing this?" Sam demanded quietly.

"Well, aside from us technically being allied, I have a vested interest in seeing the girl with the magic bullets survive the night. So you get off your arses and hit the road before I change my mind," he said. "Also, I would very much appreciate _not_ being stabbed in the back just now. I _did_ just save your necks. No pot shots on the way out please."

Sam didn't say anything. He just nodded to Hunter and the two of them were heading out into the fray while Merry made her way out back. Crowley was right. They couldn't very well tell which side was which...except for the demon who tried to take a bite out of Hunter as they climbed into the Jeep. The gunsmith put a bullet right between her eyes. With Sam at the wheel and Hunter in the gunner's position in case anyone should attempt to follow them, they were on the road in seconds.

"Doesn't look like we're being followed," Hunter said after sticking her head out the window for about the hundredth time since they'd hit the highway. "I'll give you one thing, Sam Winchester, you sure know how to show a girl a good time."

"Oh, shut up," Sam said, his tone caught in a very strange place between amusement and dread. "God, I hope Cas got out of there."

"This is, I believe, what we would call 'good timing'," Cas said as he appeared in the back seat of the Jeep, nearly causing Sam to go off the road.

"Definitely one thing I didn't miss about angel wings," Sam groaned. "Cas, what happened back there? How did you get away?"

"Flew," the angel answered succinctly before leaning heavily forward, almost as if he might be sick.

"Hey, what's wrong? You okay?" Hunter asked him.

"I am...exhausted," Cas answered, not looking up at them. "Breaking through your warding...twice, even...was no small task. The flight was not easy, either. I haven't flown for more than a year now."

"So...I guess we have the little bundle of joy to thank for your new wings?" Sam asked.

"Yes. All I really had to do was wish for it...and she granted it. I hadn't really meant to break my promise, Sam, but he was threatening to kill all of you. Besides, we have _this_ now," Cas told them, revealing what he had tucked into his trench coat.

Sam glanced back to see the First Blade clutched in his hands...but he also happened to notice that Castiel's shirt was unbuttoned and there was a strange yellow-white spatter down his bare chest.

"Cas, what...what is that?"

"I...I had to distract Dean in order to get the blade away from him. So I performed ora-"

"Oh, no! Oh, _God_ no!" Sam swiftly interrupted when he finally realized exactly what the substance was. "I do not need to hear that and I _don't_ need that visual."

Hunter laughed. "Been a while, has it, Sam?"

Sam glanced incredulously at the gunsmith. Was she really...right _now?_ "That has nothing to do with anything. I have a constitutional right to object to hearing about my _brother's_ sex life."

"I'll take that as a yes."

"We are done talking about it," he said firmly before turning his attention back to Cas, pointedly ignoring the splatter on his chest. "What made you think to take the blade off him?"

"What Dorothy said...about Dean using it to turn Charlie. I thought it might prove useful if he were unable to create any more Knights of Hell. We need to press any advantage we possibly can. Perhaps Lailah and I can study the weapon...maybe discern some of its secrets," the angel said, glancing down in anger at the weapon that had stolen Dean from him. If he could, he would have _loved_ to destroy the evil thing, but he was afraid to find out what effect that might have on Dean. For now, they would simply keep it out of his hands and try to learn a little more about it.

"Y'know, if you can figure out what makes that thing tick, I might be able to add it to the gospel," Hunter said, reaching out a hand to touch the jawbone. Cas pulled it back from her with a look of warning.

"You suggest we create a bullet that can kill Knights of Hell...when the only two in existence are people we have _no wish_ to kill?" he clarified.

"No, I'm not saying that at all. What I _am _suggesting is that we'll need a weapon that can kill this Schrodinger's archangel of yours if worse should come to worst. Since there are no more archangel blades in existence, this weapon may well be our only option," she explained.

"That does make a kind of sense," Cas mused as he surveyed the blade a second time. It had been Dean's damnation, but...was it possible this blade also held their daughter's salvation?

"Weaponry. It's kinda my thing, kiddo," she said as she kicked her bare feet up onto the dash.

"And...Dean still doesn't know about...about the kid?" Sam put in, trying to catch Cas' eye in the rearview mirror.

Cas shook his head when their gazes finally locked. "No, he does not. Dean is still young in his senses. I told him the increase in power was merely the result of our coupling, which isn't entirely untrue. I'm not certain how long he will continue to be deceived, though. It will not be long before the separate entity is visible within my grace, even to those who aren't looking for it. I fear that in only a few months, Dean will be able to sense his daughter. I cannot conceal her forever."

"Well...that'll probably be easier if you don't fly off every time he calls you," Sam pointed out.

"And that will be made easier if you all don't go off and get yourselves captured, yes?" Castiel fired right back.

"He's got us there," Hunter said with a chuckle.

"You're awful cheerful for somebody half of Hell wants dead," Sam said, fighting to keep his gaze on the road.

"Says _you. _It's hardly the first time someone's tried to kill me. They've been trying and failing ever since my mom went into labor in the middle of a kelpie hunt. Someone else always dies instead," she said, her chipper exterior briefly cracking to reveal the anguish and self-loathing Sam knew was hiding underneath, but then she forced a grin for him. "Let's see who cancels who out."

"Cas, do you think maybe you could fly her out of here? Get her to the bunker?" Sam asked, both not wanting to deal with her anymore and wanting her to be safe. "It's one less thing to worry about."

"That...would not be advisable," Cas said after several moments of consideration.

"Why? You can't do it?"

"It is not that. I feel I _could_ do it, but not without risk of blacking out again so soon after breaking the wards, and that could bring harm to any one of us. I would not risk it unless it were absolutely necessary."

"Mm, bad luck, kiddo. Guess it's gonna be a long drive," Hunter said as she hunkered down in the passenger seat.

"Yeah, sure. Maybe you can keep us entertained with a song," Sam suggested, reaching into the back to pat the guitar propped up in the seat next to Castiel. Hunter whipped around to look at the instrument, her glare shifting between it and Sam.

"Why the _fuck_ did you bring that?" she snapped at him, her cheery disposition evaporating in an instant. "We were surrounded by demons, runnin' for our lives...and you brought my fucking _guitar_ with you? You may honestly be certifiably insane, Winchester. I might just have to shoot you in the head when we stop for gas."

"I take it that is not a serious threat," Cas said slowly.

"Don't tempt me," the gunsmith grumbled, burrowing back down into her previous position.

"Just leave her be, Cas. Misery loves company after all," Sam said as he focused his attention on the road again, a grin settling on his face for the first time since the ordeal had begun.

XxX

For the first time in a good long while, something actually went right and both cars made it back to the bunker without incident. Even though she looked half dead, Hunter eagerly hopped out of the Jeep when Sam parked in the garage.

"Got a place I can set up shop in this Bat Cave of yours?" she asked.

"Plenty of space. The Men of Letters were researchers more than anything, so there's plenty of lab space. Take your pick," Sam told her as he climbed out of the small vehicle. Merry was pulling in with Hunter's pickup just as Lailah, Elaine, and Dorothy appeared at the entrance to the garage. Just as soon as the truck was parked, Elaine was racing toward it and Merry was spilling out of the driver's seat and into her arms.

"Are you all right? Crowley told us what happened," Elaine blustered as she held her sister tightly.

"We're okay. It's all fine," Merry reassured her, returning the hug just as fiercely. Sam stared at them oddly for a moment.

"Something wrong?" Hunter asked him.

"No, it's just...it's a little different from how I'm used to seeing a job end. There's not usually this much hugging."

"Ah, the joys of being female and not having to worry about crushing those petty feelings down where they can't be seen," the gunsmith said with a chuckle. Sam shot a raised eyebrow at her, as if to ask if _she_ had really said such a thing. Before anymore could be said, though, Crowley appeared next to Hunter.

"So, do hope my losing a parcel of foot soldiers was worth it. How does the girl with the magic bullets?" the demon king asked, eyeing Hunter appreciatively.

"Oh, you back right off, kitten. We're not gonna start-" Hunter started, but whatever she'd been about to say was interrupted when her eyes suddenly went wide and her shoulders convulsed. Without warning she was bending over and throwing up all over Crowley's boots.

For a moment, the King of Hell just stood in disgusted silence before saying to no one in particular, "Why do I have a sinking feeling this is going to become a thing?"

"Hunter, are you all right?" Sam asked as he got to his knees beside her. She dry-heaved a few more times before finally allowing Sam to pull her back, holding her easily in his arms as he pressed a hand to her forehead. No fever.

"Well...I feel better _now,_" she said shakily as she rolled her eyes. "That was...kinda sudden, though. Guess I'm just not used to a solid food diet anymore."

"Which I don't understand at all. That's terrible for the babies," Lailah said absently. "I'm amazed you've kept them this long."

For a moment, everyone in the garage just stared at the angel of conception in shock. Hunter was the one to finally mumble. "Excuse me..._babies?_"

"Oh," the angel said softly as realization dawned in her eyes. "Because you don't know. That would be the reason. I am _so_ sorry. Probably not the best way to break that news. Well...congratulations. You're pregnant with twins."

"So I don't even get the shock of just pregnant? I've got to skip straight into twins?" Hunter growled as she pushed Sam away and got to her feet. "Fuck, fuck, fuck. Mother-fucking-"

"Hunt...do you know who it was?" Merry managed to ask.

"Yeah, I fucking know who it was. He's the only guy I've slept with in about ten years. It was fucking Leigh, and of course he had to go and fucking _die_ on me," she snarled, tangling her fingers in her hair and yanking in frustration.

"So...how far along, would you guess?" Elaine asked.

"Six weeks," Hunter answered before Lailah could say anything. "That's when it happened. Fucking _mistake._"

"And you didn't notice when you, oh I dunno, skipped your period?" Merry pressed.

"Honestly, no. That's actually a pretty common side effect of...poor diet," she said, her anger quite suddenly fizzling out when she pressed a hand against her painfully flat stomach. "Guess...Guess I really _do_ need to start eating. Ain't just me now. _Fuck,_" she hissed before hurrying out of the garage.

"Hunter, you ca-"

"Sam, wait," Crowley stopped him before he could go after her.

"What?"

"Think about it a minute. The fifth item. The trust of one who is not yet a mother. There's no way this is a coincidence. It's _got_ to be her. _Her_ trust."

"Whoa," Sam said quietly, somewhat blown by the sudden leap in logic.

"If that is true, it leaves us in possession of at least three of the items," Cas said, mood somewhat lifted by the notion.

"It _is_ true," Lailah said, her tone thoughtful as she looked around at each of them. "It almost seems to me...that these things are falling into place...like this is supposed to happen."

"Hate to break it to you, Lailah, but we pretty much destroyed fate when we derailed the apocalypse. Now if you don't mind, I've got a semi-suicidal pregnant woman to deal with," Sam said to them before hurrying after Hunter.

The gunsmith had found her way into the library. Caught somewhere between bitter humor and outright panic, she looked very harried as she perused the Men of Letters' massive archive of information.

"Wouldn't happen to have a copy of 'What to Expect When You're Expecting', would you?" she asked, not looking at him.

"Not so much. This archive's all about the supernatural. I wouldn't worry too much, though. Lailah's basically a walking pregnancy encyclopedia. Babies are kinda her thing. At least your pregnancy'll be somewhat predictable. Cas has been all over the place," Sam said, following Hunter's erratic pacing among the shelves, but being careful not to get too close.

"Yeah...right...something to be grateful for," she muttered, but then she threw down the tome she was holding and pounded a fist against the shelf. "_Fuck!_"

"Hunter, do you...do you even _want_ these kids?" Sam asked her. He had no idea what effect an abortion might have on Hannah's ritual, but he didn't really care just then. What Hunter actually _wanted_ was much more important.

"It's...not that. Leigh may have been a stupid, self-sacrificing idiot, but...he was a good man. He deserves to be able to leave something behind. I can't destroy the last piece of him that exists in the world," she said, gripping the bookshelf in white knuckles, as if she'd collapse if she didn't hold onto it. Still she wouldn't look at Sam.

"That isn't what I asked you," Sam said firmly. "What do _you_ want?"

"I didn't plan on any of this. I'm really not...the mothering type...and if anyone who gets close to me dies, what does that say for any children I might have? Really? What kind of mother gives birth to children she knows she's going to get killed? Mother of the fucking year."

"Still not what I asked," Sam said, drawing just a little closer.

"It...it's not _right_...for me to be a mom. What can a hunter give to a kid anyway? What besides fear and death?"

"Hunter...all I'm hearing are excuses," Sam said slowly as he laid a hand on her shoulder. "Do _you want_ to be a mother?"

The pair stood in silence for several long minutes before Hunter finally whispered, "Yes."

"That's all that matters then. We'll help you. It's the least we can do, what with you letting us use the gospels."

"That's nothing. Those are _meant_ to be used. It...it's what Leigh and the others died for."

"What happened? If I can ask," Sam asked, letting her know it was all right if he couldn't.

"Well...there were a lot of Abaddon loyalists running around after your brother took her out. It's not his fault; I don't blame him or anything. She needed to go down. Point being, though, that these stunt demons were a bit lacking in direction. They needed something to insure them against Crowley. I don't know how they found out about my work, but they came after me. I was working with three others at the time. Leigh and Luna Carson, and Rick Callaghan. We were working a vampire nest in Florida and...they ambushed us...said they knew about the bullets. The other three, they...they fought for me. I don't...don't usually do leg work on cases. I can't help but wonder...if I hadn't been there...maybe they'd still be alive," she hissed, and with how hard she was gripping the shelf, Sam was almost amazed her fingers didn't break. He could see that her eyes were bright with tears, but it seemed she would sooner bash her own skull in than let them fall.

Sam didn't really know what to say. He let her talk until she couldn't talk anymore. He knew he'd felt many of the same things she was feeling now. Hell, he _still_ felt them. If he allowed himself to pursue his interest in this woman, how long could she reasonably hope to survive? But then...if she had the same problem, maybe _he_ was the one who couldn't hope to survive for once. Whatever the case, he knew she didn't want to hear about how none of it was her fault, or about how she wasn't alone, for in her view, she was...always would be. Ultimately, all he said was, "We're not going to quit. We'll figure it out."

Hunter didn't say anything, but he could feel the tension in her shoulder easing slightly. He had no idea how long the two of them just stood there, but he was willing to do so just as long as she needed him to.

XxX

After the day's drama had settled, as much as drama in the bunker was _capable_ of settling, leastwise, Merry and Elaine found themselves in the bathroom, talking while Merry got ready to take a shower.

"Honestly, I think they'd be adorable together," Merry said as she slipped off her bra. "We absolutely need to make that happen."

"Really, Mer? You want to play matchmaker right now?" Elaine asked, rolling her eyes as she looked up from the old sword catalogue she was flipping through. "With _three kids_ on the way, one of them either a savior or an antichrist, and us about to be right in the middle of yet _another_ war between Heaven and Hell. You want to fix up one of our best friends with a _Winchester?_ Yeah...can't see _that_ ending badly."

"Come on, Laney. What better time? They both need somebody. It'd be good for them," Merry continued as she shook her hair out of the loose braid she'd had it in. Then she slipped out of her jeans and panties, moving over to check on the water temperature.

"What better time? Oh, I dunno, maybe when Hunter's not in mourning for the father of her children?"

"Work with me here, big sis," Merry said with a tiny growl of frustration. "There was nothing between Leigh and Hunter and you know it. It was probably just a bad hunt. You should have seen the way she was flirting with Sam this week. I haven't seen her seriously flirt in...Jesus, I dunno, four years. Sam was totally into it, too. He was acting like a little boy with a crush, granted, but the point is he would definitely tap that."

Elaine raised both eyebrows as she set the book down beside the sink. "Did I really just hear those words come out of your mouth? I may need to bleach my brain."

"Well, while you're doing that, I'm finally going to get myself a proper shower," Merry announced as she moved back toward the shower, but before she could hop in, Elaine's next words stopped her.

"Meredith, there are seriously more important things to be worrying about right now. Crowley, he...he told me why he and Dean are so interested in me."

"What?" Merry demanded as she slowly turned to face her sister. Elaine wasn't looking at her. Instead her gaze was fixed on the ratty old rug she was standing on. "What did he tell you?"

"That...that _he_ was the one...who made the deal with Mom. He did it so...a child would be born...whose specific purpose was to go to Hell. My soul was created...just to become a demon," she explained, and while she talked, her gaze shifted to the mirror beside her, looking at her own trembling reflection rather than at the person she was actually talking to. After all, there wasn't a whole lot of difference. They both did it on occasion.

"Elaine...you're not buying into that, are you?" Merry asked as she stepped away from the shower. "My big sister would never let anybody define her like that. We've both known for a long time how we were born. Why does this make things any different?"

"Well, it _is_ different for you. You weren't _made_ for this. You get to _choose_ who you are."

"So do you," Merry tried to argue.

"You know what? Forget about it," Elaine said as she turned away from her, going for her book again. "You're going to waste the hot water and I still haven't showered."

"Elaine-"

"How about this. We'll talk about it when you're ready to talk about what happened with Dean," she said as she buried her nose in the book, knowing that would be the end of it...and she wasn't wrong. Merry sighed in frustration before finally climbing into the shower. It wasn't the nice peaceful cleansing she'd been hoping for, though.

Elaine's words made her remember that night, now more than a week ago. Sometimes she felt like it had been years since it happened. Other times it felt like Dean had only just pulled back from her...like she was still tied to the chair in the alternate space. As the water ran down her skin, she could almost swear she could feel the drops of her own blood flowing as he gripped her arms in talon-like fingers. She could feel _him_, and with every motion, she scrubbed at her skin a little harder in a useless effort to wash the feeling away. She didn't become aware of just what she was doing to herself until she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her knees.

Blinking herself out of the delusion, Merry realized she'd fallen. She was on her knees in the shower and she'd scraped her skin so raw it was actually bleeding from a few places.

"Merry!" Elaine called out when she heard the sound of the crash. "Merry, are you okay?"

Merry tried to talk, but no words came. Just a pained, choked sob, and when Elaine heard that sound, she barged into the shower, looking horrified when she saw the state her sister was in.

"Oh, Merry. Mer!" she cried out, quickly getting to her knees beside her sister, paying no mind to the shower head raining down on her as she pulled Merry into her arms. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry."

Merry didn't say anything. She just cried as she clung to her twin. Neither of them knew just how long they knelt there getting soaked, but their first reminder of the outside world came when a hand suddenly reached into the shower to shut the water off. The pair looked up to see Lailah standing over them.

"It is, perhaps, better to bathe _after_ you've cried all your tears," she said gently as she sat down on the floor beside them. Reaching forward, she pressed her hands to the scrapes on Merry's body and instantly healed them.

"Cas did that...before," Merry whispered, still clinging to her sister. "He healed...what Dean did to me...but I can still feel him. I don't think any healer in the world can do anything about that."

"No. That's something you'll have to face yourself," Lailah soothed, reaching forward once again to run her fingers through the younger Serra's wet hair.

"I trusted him!" she finally cried out, burying her face in her sister's chest. "He and Sam...they saved Elaine from that demon. I _trusted him!_ I know...I know it isn't _really_ his fault...but that...that's the face I see...at night. I don't know what to do. _I don't know what to do!_" she sobbed against her sister's breast, and while Elaine held her, Lailah held the both of them, giving them the mother's touch that had so long been absent from their lives.

"It's okay. It's okay," Elaine whispered, receiving comfort from the small group hug as much as giving it. "I have no fucking idea how...but we're going to make this right."

Unknown to all but Lailah, Castiel was standing outside the bathroom listening in. He knew he shouldn't, but he'd been with Lailah when she'd sensed Elaine's faint prayer for their mother, so he'd followed...and he now remained because he felt he had to punish himself for this. If he hadn't let things get so far out of hand, these two girls wouldn't now be mixed up in their troubles...so he stayed, bearing witness to the suffering he'd caused.

_Dean...this isn't your fault. It's mine. If I hadn't listened to Metatron in the first place, none of it would have happened. I won't you let you suffer for my mistakes...not anymore._

XxX

Castiel often found himself torn on whether or not he enjoyed sleep. He'd found it annoyed him back when he'd first fallen, needing to take the time out to rest his exhausted vessel, but as time wore on, he'd found he enjoyed it a little. It was pleasing to wake up refreshed after a good night's sleep, and it was especially pleasing when he dreamed.

Then he'd regained grace and, like PB&J, sleep had become a thing of the past, but then Dean had impregnated him and he'd suddenly found there were times he just could not do without sleep. These days, though, it wasn't just dreams he had when he slept. For every sweet dream he had of sharing a kiss with Dean...of the hunter holding their baby girl...there was an equally horrible nightmare. It was one of those he was waking up from now.

Castiel sat up sharply from the couch he'd fallen asleep on, near hyperventilating as he looked around the library. Lailah immediately looked over from where she and Hunter were working.

"Castiel? Are you all right?" she asked him.

"Fine, fine," he murmured as his racing heart slowly started to calm. "Nightmares. How long was I asleep?"

"Near five hours."

"And I've left the two of you to do all the work again," he said, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

"It's all right. You needed the rest," Hunter said absently as she ran a yew wand over the First Blade.

"And you didn't?" Cas asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"Meh, I'm used to it. Besides, I've got two regular human babies renting space in my gut. You...you may just have a world-ending singularity growing in there. I imagine the strain is more than a little different."

At two months' pregnant, there was a very slight swell beginning to show in Hunter's previously flat belly. She'd put on a little more weight since coming to the bunker and she didn't look quite as emaciated as she had when Cas had first met her. He himself was at six weeks along and there was no physical change to his vessel yet, but he could feel the constant hum of the grace growing just beneath his own. Among everything else happening around him, the hum of his growing child was a soothing lullaby to his frazzled nerves.

Over the past weeks, Sam and the twins had gone out to work cases when they could, sticking to the plan of only one of the sisters accompanying him in order to keep the pair of them separate when not in the bunker. Hunter had been itching to get back out, but Lailah had insisted she remain behind until she was suitably satisfied that the gunsmith was no longer at death's door. It had been somewhat unsettling for the two angels to see the reaper lingering just outside the bunker, waiting for the young woman to finish what she'd started, but Hunter hadn't given up. She'd started eating again and a little color had returned to her previously pale skin. It was only in the last few days that the reaper had finally seen he wasn't needed and gone away. In all that time, the gunsmith had remained hard at work with Cas and Lailah to try and unlock the secrets of the First Blade.

"Mm, I believe Elaine's awake. I smell cinnamon rolls," Lailah said, and when Cas tilted his head back and sniffed the air, he found he was inclined to agree with her. The scent of cinnamon and pastry was just beginning to move through the air.

"Hey...hold up a minute," Hunter said slowly, sitting up in her chair with a spark of realization blazing to life in her eyes. "All this work...all these tests we've been running...what if we've been looking in the wrong place?"

"What do you mean?" Cas asked as he walked over to the table.

"I mean...we're assuming the weapon itself is what contains the mojo, but you said the weapon's no good without the Mark of Cain, right?"

"That is correct. What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying what if the blade's a decoy? A trick to keep the real weapon hidden? What if the Mark is the real weapon? After all, this isn't really a blade," she pointed out as she held up the ass's jawbone. "I don't expect one could do a lot of damage without the Mark's help.

Cas and Lailah shared a long look before Lailah finally came out with, "It's certainly possible. All this time...we've been commanding the blade to reveal its secrets. It could be that it _has_ none. Perhaps the true secret rests with the Mark itself."

Nodding, Castiel took the blade from Hunter's hand and held his own over it, focusing his energy on it.

"Vin aziazor hoiad."

_I invoke thee in the likeness of thy true master._

Properly summoned, the image of the blade began to flicker before the angel's eyes. For a moment, it appeared as the Mark of Cain, but then it shifted again, becoming the familiar lines and contours of an angel blade.

"An...angel blade?" Lailah wondered aloud.

"No," Castiel said softly as he began to understand. "An _arch_angel blade. Lucifer knew he was for the Cage, but he would have wanted to remain an active force in the world at any cost."

"So the power he gave to Cain was that of his own blade...twisted beyond recognition...thus even in the Cage, his power would still be in the world," Lailah continued.

"And that must be why the thing's indestructible. Even imprisoned, so long as Lucifer exists in this world, his blade will go on existing, too. It would also explain Dean's ease with creating demons. With Lucifer's archangel blade, he'd have the ability to directly corrupt souls, just like he did," Hunter mused.

"So...the logical conclusion here...is that the only way to destroy the First Blade and erase the Mark of Cain forever...is to destroy Lucifer...which is _more_ than impossible," Cas said with a pained sigh. If it wasn't one thing, it was another.

"Not necessarily," Hunter pointed out. "If this thing really is an archangel blade, it might just have the juice to do what we need done...killing the Devil, along with this Israfil character. Honestly, I'm starting to lose count of how many birds we'll kill with just this one stone," Hunter said, sounding very self-satisfied as she kicked her feet up onto the table. However, before another word could be spoken, Elaine and Sam entered the library with cinnamon rolls and coffee.

"Had any luck, guys?" Sam asked them as he set the tray full of mugs on the table.

Hunter threw her head back and laughed, but Cas and Lailah both sighed, neither having yet decided if this was a good or bad thing. Either way, it was going to be a long conversation.

XxX

Meanwhile, in another part of the world, two jackals were waking from a long sleep.

They were a mated pair and they were very much not like other jackals. Their fur was black and sleek and should a human being gaze into their eyes, they would find an intelligence very much like their own staring back.

The male was the first to awake from their sleep. He shifted subtly before raising his head and giving a great yawn, blinking sleepily as he looked around their desert cave. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but something had called him from his sleep nonetheless, and it wasn't a lost soul.

Finally deciding that a shift was necessary, the jackal climbed to his feet, shaking himself off before allowing his luscious fur to shrink into his skin and his powerful canine limbs to shift into larger, more clumsy human ones. The man who had once been a jackal was just as handsome in this form as he had been in the last. His skin was a light brown color and soft black hair fell to his shoulders. The same warm brown eyes that had once gazed out of a wolfish face now had the rounder shape of human eyes. He was just as much at home in one skin as he was in the other. There was an air of power, majesty, and mystery surrounding this young-seeming man. Grinning faintly, he finally realized what it was that had woken him. As his grin widened, he rolled easily onto his side, reaching over to run his fingers through his mate's silken fur.

"Kiah? Kiah, wake up. It's time."

The female jackal awoke much more quickly than he had. Within moments, a beautiful woman was sitting at his side. Her skin was a shade lighter, but her long hair was just as black. Yawning, she leaned toward her mate and pressed a deep, lingering kiss to his lips.

"You really think so? You really think the waiting's over?" she asked him quietly, snuggling her naked body up close against his.

"Can't you hear it? Can't you feel it? The seven keys are gathering. The Souls are awakening in the veil. The time we've waited for, the answers Inpu promised us...it's all really happening. It's _time,_ Kiah," he practically yipped, leaning in to nuzzle her ear.

"Yes...I do hear it," she said quietly, easily returning the affectionate gesture. "But Tek...are you sure it's time for us to step in? It's not too soon?"

"No...I feel them...calling out to me. You'll feel it soon, too. Kiah, they'll need us. We must find them."

"All right, all right, you great whining wolf. I trust you," she said, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "We should probably hunt before we leave, though. We've got a long journey ahead of us," Kiah said just before shifting back into her jackal form and trotting out of their cave. Tek just continued to grin stupidly as he shifted, following after his mate as if in a daze. After all the endless years of waiting, the time had finally come. Their ages of service and sacrifice were finally going to mean something.

_We hear and obey, o Rose of Sharon._

XxX

(A/N) Well, in case you hadn't already noticed it, pregnancy and motherhood are going to be very major themes in this story, so yes, be prepared for a lot of that. My only other note is that I can't completely guarantee the accuracy of this round of Enochian translation, but I did what I could. Hope everyone is still enjoying.


	9. There'll Be Peace When You Are Done

(A/N) Wow, you guys, I am _so_ sorry I haven't been able to keep up with my release schedule these past few weeks. Week of Christmas, heh...reeeaally shitty time to get the flu. Still haven't quite managed to shake off the cold. Certainly hope the chapter was worth waiting for.

**The Rose of Sharon**

_Chapter 9: There'll Be Peace When You Are Done_

Even after more than a year of living in the bunker, Sam had to admit he found it strange having a regular morning routine. Except when...Kevin had still been with them...he and Dean hadn't really kept up anything regular. They were probably just too used to the motel life, tailoring their schedules as their hunts required. Nowadays, though, Elaine was in the habit of getting up before all of them and making breakfast. It was actually pretty amazing what she could do with a handful of flour, a cup of milk, and a few dashes of sugar. She was in the kitchen now whipping up some french toast while the rest of the gang prepared for their respective trips.

Merry had gotten wind of a potential case down in Aberdeen, Mississippi, where young women were turning up murdered, all with their eyes scratched out and all with red hair. While Elaine didn't much like the idea of Merry running off to be bait for whatever creature this might be, she knew she couldn't go with her. They had to stay apart when not in the bunker. Thankfully, Dorothy had opted to join Merry on this hunt, stating that it had been too long since she'd been out of the bunker and that she was starting to go stir crazy.

Sam, meanwhile, was pulling some last minute files in preparation for a trip up to Fall River, Massachusetts with Elaine and Hunter. The gunsmith had informed them that she didn't work the spells for the gospels herself. That was done for her by a coven that worked out of Fall River. Hunter figured that if anyone could help them draw the archangel blade's power from the Mark of Cain, it would be the Circle of Moonrise. Granted, Sam hadn't been very _happy_ to learn that Lucifer was _still_ fucking with his life just by existing, but now that Lailah had officially declared Hunter fit for active duty again, they were finally going to start figuring things out.

"Is Hunter ready to go yet?" Elaine asked as she hurried into the library with trays of food. Sam turned to look at her when he heard her nearly drop one.

"Yeah, she's just...grabbing a case of gospels to take with," he said slowly as he watched her set out individual plates. "Are you...all right? You seem kinda flustered."

"Fine, fine, fine," she tried to brush him off. "I'm just anxious to get on the road. Mer and I haven't been up to Fall River in a few months. We're good friends with the Circle of Moonrise," she explained before shoving half a chocolate-soaked slice of french toast into her mouth. Sometimes Sam found himself amazed at just how much food the diminutive hunter could shove into her mouth.

"Mm, yes, just friends. Absolutely nothing more," Crowley commented as he strolled into the library. Sam had honestly given up being surprised at his appearances. There was no telling when Crowley would be in and when he would be out. "Care for some toast with your syrup, love?"

"Fuck off, pops," Elaine snarled without looking at him. "I'd say there's more in the kitchen, but we all know you'll just take one of the plates if you really want it, so knock yourself out. _Please._"

"Oh, promises, promises, little girl," the demon king said with a sneer before lifting a single syrup-soaked piece of toast from one of the plates.

"Want breakfast or not, Sam?" Elaine asked him, her good mood just on the verge of souring.

"Sure, just a minute," Sam said before turning his attention back to the bookshelf, continuing the hunt for the genealogy report he'd been looking for. He laid a hand on the spine of the old volume just in time for Cas to appear in the library.

"Never late for a meal, as usual," Elaine said, brightening up when the angel sat at the table like an eager puppy.

"She enjoys the food you make," Cas said as he reached for one of the plates.

"Just her?" Elaine teased. "It must be such a struggle to eat a proper breakfast every morning."

"Well, no," Cas said, looking sheepish as he took a bite of french toast. "Only...it makes me happy...when she is happy."

"Oh, that is so sweet," Elaine sighed, and before Crowley could open his mouth, she snapped without looking at him, "Not one damn word."

Crowley rolled his eyes as he shifted to Castiel's side of the table. Why he listened to this girl was beyond him. Oh, how the mighty were fallen.

"Yay, breakfast!" Merry cheered as she and Dorothy entered the library. Her put on cheerfulness cracked briefly when she reached for the plate with strawberry syrup and found only the one piece of toast. "Hey! How come I only get one?"

"You'll have to take that up with the king of cats here," Elaine said, jerking her head in Crowley's direction. Ever since Hunter had taken up the whole 'kitten' thing, the twins had picked up on it, and lord knew why, but he let them go on doing it. "Don't worry. There's more in the kitchen."

"Well, I'll just have to go and get some more, then," Merry said, sticking her tongue out at Crowley as she picked up her plate. He quickly returned the gesture before she disappeared in the direction of the kitchen.

"I make no promises I won't _kill_ your boyfriend when this is all over, Cas," Crowley snarled as he rubbed his temples in frustration.

"And why is that?" the angel asked, glaring at the demon out of the corner of his eye, though the effect was somewhat lessened by the syrup dribbling down his chin.

"What am I reduced to? Name-calling with a bloody _child! _I haven't stuck my tongue out at someone since the sixties...and that's the _sixteen_ sixties, mind."

"Well, maybe we just bring out the worst in you, _Dad,_" Elaine returned the snarl, spitting the word like it was the ugliest curse under the sun. "As you're so fond of mentioning, you _did_ create us. So whose fault is it, _really?_"

"Adding to that, do we really need to remind you who led Dean to the blade in the first place?" Sam asked, not looking up from the book he was flipping through.

"No, you don't, Moosey," the demon said with yet another roll of his eyes. "In fact, I-"

What Crowley had meant to say next, Sam would probably never know. All he knew was that the next sound to overtake the conversation was the very distinct sound of someone throwing up. Quickly spinning around, Sam was greeted by the sight of Cas leaning miserably over in his chair while Crowley just sat perfectly still in his own, contemplating the vomit that now covered his lap.

"You know," Crowley began, addressing the room at large, "I absolutely did _not_ sign up for this. You morons clean up your own mess. I need a spa day." Then he was gone.

"Whoa, Cas," Sam started as he moved toward the table, where Elaine was already moving around to the angel, "I'm sorry you're not feeling well, but you gotta admit...Dean would have loved that."

"Yes...yes, I imagine he would have," Cas groaned, his face pinched in misery as his shoulders trembled. "That was...exceedingly unpleasant."

"Ooh, guess somebody doesn't get to skip out on morning sickness," Hunter said as she and Lailah entered the library, Lailah with a glass of water in hand. While Elaine stroked the angel's back soothingly, Lailah offered him the water.

"Here, drink this."

Cas took the glass from her, clutching it in both hands, just contemplating it for several moments before finally taking a small swallow. "I am...sorry, Elaine."

"Sorry? What are _you_ sorry for? You're the one who's sick."

"It seems rather...hypocritical...to say that we enjoy your food...and then to vomit it back up," Cas said, taking another sip of water.

"Aw, c'mon, man, that's not your fault. It comes with the territory. I'll warm your plate up later when you're feeling up to it."

"Thank you, though...I think maybe I should just return to bed. As much as I enjoyed it earlier, I find that the scent is now turning my stomach," the pregnant angel said before flitting out of the room.

"You gonna be able to handle him?" Sam asked Lailah, taking a bite of french toast before taking the book he was still holding back to the shelf.

"Believe me, I can handle anything these two can dish out. You don't need to worry about us," Lailah said, claiming a plate for herself while Hunter did the same, sitting down next to her.

"You about good to go, Sam?" the gunsmith asked as she tucked into her breakfast.

"Just about. I just need to eat and then we...we're...the hell?" Sam's words slowly trailed off in confusion as he tried to put the book back in place. It wouldn't slide back in quite right and when the hunter shifted aside some of the books to have a look, he found a key sticking out of a small lock at the back of the shelf. Reaching back, he gave the small key a quick turn and the bookshelf immediately pulled back into the wall and slid to the side.

"Okay...this is new," Sam said slowly as he stuck his head into the darkened room behind the shelf.

"Oh, yeah. You didn't even know that was back there?" Dorothy asked, not turning to look, as she was still finishing up her own breakfast.

"Can't say as I did," Sam responded.

"What is it?" Hunter asked as she stood from the table to go and join Sam.

"It's the Men of Letters' top secret music room," the older hunter said with a roll of her eyes.

When the lights finally came up in the secret room, Sam could see that Dorothy was right. A baby grand piano sat in the far corner of the room and the walls were lined with all manner of instruments, some in cases and others on display, such as a very old-looking coronet and an ornate harp. There were even a few bookshelves, all filled with volumes of what was probably sheet music.

"Well, I wouldn't...oh...my..." whatever cynical thing Hunter had been about to say slowly faded away to nothing when she got a good look at what was in the room. A look of awe slowly spread across her face as she wandered inside.

"So...why is it hidden away like this?" Sam called over his shoulder, not wholly able to look away from the tiny smile that was lighting the gunsmith's face.

"Soundproofing," Dorothy answered in a deadpan sort of way. "I'm pretty sure you can imagine how annoying it would be to have to listen in while someone was in there working."

"It does make a kind of sense," Hunter said slowly, reaching for one of the books on the wall and carefully flipping through the old sheet music. "For them to keep a place like this, I mean. Music does have a lot of practical application in spell work and the like." She barely managed to get the music back on the shelf before drifting toward the piano. She ran her fingers over the dusty keys almost reverently. "I've never played one of these before. Mom had an upright at home when I was growing up."

"More than just the guitar under your belt?" Sam asked her, venturing in after her.

"Well, yeah," she said, shaking her head, as if to snap herself out of a revery. "We all have things we'd do if we weren't in the life. Music's my thing," she said, placing her fingers on a certain set of keys and testing out a chord. Hunter winced at the sound the old instrument made. "Oh, yeah. This old girl needs some love. Think it'd be all right if I tuned her up?"

"Don't see why not," Sam said with a shrug and a small smile. "Not like anybody else is even using this room. Actually...if you want it, you can have it to yourself."

"Really?" Hunter asked as she turned to look at him, a similar smile lighting her face.

"Of course. I wouldn't mind seeing what you can do with some of these instruments."

"That...I'd like that," the gunsmith finally managed to get out, her smile becoming shy as she looked away from him.

"If you two want food, you'd better rejoin the world, 'cuz I'm about to just lock you both in," Merry informed them, having emerged from the kitchen with a newly filled plate.

"Yeah, we should probably...finish eating," Sam stuttered.

"Right. Gotta...hit the road," Hunter mumbled as she followed Sam out of the music room. Once they'd gotten out, Sam slid the shelf back into place and locked it. Then he pulled the small key from the lock and handed it to Hunter.

"All yours."

"Thank you," she said quietly, looking at him just out of the corner of her eye as she tucked the key into her pocket.

"Doing it again," Merry pointed out with a giggle.

"Right," Sam started.

"Toast," Hunter finished. As the two finally sat down at the table to properly eat their breakfast, the other four women couldn't help grinning or chuckling in their own way. How long would it be before one of them stopped for another staring contest with a piece of food halfway to their mouth?

XxX

Sam would freely admit he was used to the whole old house alone in the woods business, but this one he now drove up to was a little different than the scenario he was familiar with. The two story house was well kept and cheery looking. A woman was sitting at a table on the large front porch reading a book while two kids played with a gang of plastic dinosaurs. When the two children, a boy and a girl, looked up from their game to see who was emerging from the Jeep, they both jumped up, shouting as they ran to them.

"Hunter!" the girl shouted as she ran to the gunsmith, laughing gleefully as she swept her up in her arms.

"Laney!" the boy shouted as he jumped into Elaine's waiting arms. The elder Serra immediately covered the little boy's face with kisses.

"Ew!" the boy protested, though he didn't try to escape the hug. "No kisses!"

"And why wouldn't I kiss my little man? He's getting so big. Next time I leave and come back, you're going to be all grown up."

"Blech! No way!" the boy protested, sticking his tongue out.

"Hunter, you missed my birthday! I'm six now," the girl said proudly as she snuggled firmly into the woman's embrace. Hunter grunted quietly as she hefted the little girl into a tighter hold.

"I know, little miss. I'm not gonna be able to pick you up much longer. Better enjoy it while we can."

"Who's that?" the boy asked, pointing at Sam, his eyes wide as he looked him up and down.

"Christian, this is Sam. He's a friend of ours. Sam, this is Christian," Hunter introduced.

"It's nice to meet you, Christian," Sam said, not sure if he was supposed to shake the boy's hand or not. Christian made no attempt to, though. He just continued to stare at Sam, eyes wide as dinner plates.

"You're huge," he finally declared. "How did you get so big?"

"Oh, you know...getting enough sleep, drinking milk, eating my green vegetables," he answered with a shrug.

"No way."

"Christian!" the girl shouted. Considering their similar brown eyes, auburn hair, and coffee-colored skin, Sam assumed she was his sister. "That's rude. You're not s'pposed to ask people that."

"And who are you?" Sam asked the girl.

"I'm Abby. I'm six. Christian's my little brother. He's just four. Please excuse him," she said properly with a bob of her head.

"Absolutely," Sam said before going to retrieve their bags from the trunk.

"You want to show us into the house?" Hunter asked Abby as she let her down. Abby nodded happily and immediately darted toward the house with the three hunters following her, Elaine still holding Christian in her arms.

"Hello," the woman greeted them all with a grin as they approached the house. She had the same light coffee-colored skin and brown eyes as the two kids. Her long hair was a slightly darker color, though. Setting her book down, she stood from the table and came forward to give both Elaine and Hunter hugs. "It's good to see you two again. Where's Merry?"

"Working a case down in Mississippi," Elaine answered, letting a wriggling Christian down from her arms.

"Ah. And this must be the famous Sam Winchester," the woman said.

"Yes. It's nice to meet you, Ma'am," Sam said, shifting one of the bags to his other hand so he could reach out to shake hers.

"Alma Stewart," she introduced herself as she returned the handshake. "Of course, you've already met my two little monsters."

"Raargh! Raargh! Raargh!" Christian growled as he picked up a T-rex and ran inside. Abby picked up a pterodactyl before following after him.

"Chris, wait up!"

"Drive was uneventful, I hope?" Alma asked them.

"Very much so," Elaine said.

"Small miracles, I suppose. Circe's been waiting for you," Alma said, leading the way into the house.

The three hunters were led down a hall and into a spacious kitchen area. There was a young woman hard at work at the stove, attending to several skillets of bacon, eggs, and pancakes. While she scurried around, two other women sat at the large kitchen table nursing two small mugs. One was noticeably elderly, but she had aged gracefully. Her long white hair was pulled atop her head in a messy ponytail and her green eyes were warm. Laugh lines crinkled at the corners of her eyes and mouth as she chuckled at something the other woman had said. The second appeared to be younger, with only a few streaks of grey in her short black hair. She was also grinning, but her grey eyes held an edge the older woman's gaze lacked. The pair noticed them immediately.

"Hello, Hunter, Elaine, Sam," the older woman greeted. When the young woman heard her speak, she spun around.

"Elaine!" she shouted, her blue eyes sparkling with a joy Sam had only seen a handful of times in his life. The loose bun her hair had been pinned in came undone as she rushed forward to hug Elaine and a mess of brown curls spilled down her back. Elaine returned the hug just as enthusiastically, and as she held the other woman, Sam saw yet another look he was familiar with.

Longing.

"It's been way too long, Rachael," Elaine said, and if Sam didn't know better, he would almost say she was inhaling the scent of her hair.

"You're early," Rachael whined quietly as she pulled away from Elaine. "Breakfast isn't ready yet. I...I wanted to cook for you."

"I'm...sure it'll be delicious," Elaine said with a small blush.

"It's all right, Rachael. We've got plenty to talk about while you finish cooking," the old woman reassured her. "Would anyone like some tea?"

"Sure," they all responded.

"Well, have a seat. Alma can take your bags to the guest rooms and I'll get you some mugs," the other woman said. Once Sam made sure Alma could handle the bags, he joined the others at the table. The old woman smiled faintly at him the entire time.

"We all know who you are of course, Sam Winchester, but I suppose we have you at a disadvantage. I am Circe Jones. I am the high priestess of this coven," the old woman finally introduced herself. Sam reached across the table to shake her hand.

"Hunter told me. It's an honor to meet you, Ma'am."

"You as well, young Winchester. The woman at the stove is Rachael Wick."

"Hi!" Rachael called out, waving briefly before getting right back to the bacon.

"And this is my niece, Weaver McKenna," Circe introduced the other woman as she set a steaming mug of tea in front of each of them.

"A pleasure," Sam said, shaking Weaver's hand before she sat back down beside her aunt. He inhaled the scent of chai before taking a grateful sip of the tea. It had been a long drive. "So...did Hunter tell you what's been happening?"

"No need. We know what's been happening. I keep my eye on things and if there's anything I can do to help, I'll do my best. Ever since your brother was raised from Hell, though, it's all been a little above my pay grade," Circe said with a weary smile. "We help where we can."

"There might be a way for you to help now, Circe. Have you ever heard of the First Blade?" Hunter asked her. When she heard the words, Circe's expression immediately went dark.

"I have. I've even had the, ah...pleasure...of a run in with Cain. I understand the Mark is the cause of it all."

"Yes. We've recently discovered some new information, though...about the Mark's true identity."

"An archangel blade," Weaver said quietly, her gaze shifting among the three of them.

"That's why it's the only thing that can kill a Knight of Hell, and this mystery number five everyone's been talking about. It's the only weapon of its kind still in existence on this plane. If we can harness its power, we might be able to get rid of this angel before she has a chance to hurt Castiel's kid," Hunter explained.

"Well...short of grinding Dean Winchester up into powder and adding him to the spell, I know of no way to harness the Mark's power. I take it that's not on the table," the old witch said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, no. That we actively try to avoid...y'know, for all the good it does us," Sam said with a small wince. As much as they tried to avoid violent death, it always did seem to find them...many times over.

"Certainly. It seems to me I'll have to go to the man himself to get the information we need."

"What? Do you mean...Cain?" Sam asked her.

"Just what I mean. It will take a fair amount of doing, though...as to find someone who doesn't want to be found."

"That would be why we came to the best," Hunter said with a grin.

"Flattery won't finish the task any faster for the speaking, my girl," Circe said with a wry grin and a shake of her head. "It seems to me we would do better to have some breakfast before we get to the spell work. I believe we're nearly ready now."

"Yes, we are," Rachael said proudly as she flipped one last pancake from the skillet and onto an already sizable stack. That done, she pulled down several stacks of plates from one of the cabinets before heading toward the hall and calling out, "BREAKFAST!"

An immediate clatter sounded overhead at the call. Within moments, Abby and Christian were stampeding into the kitchen with their mother trailing behind, an exhausted smile on her face.

"Pancakes! Pancakes! Yay, pancakes!" Christian shouted as he crashed into Rachael, who laughed as she seized him in her arms.

"Somebody's wound up this morning."

"Christian, what do we say?" Alma asked him.

"Thank you for pancakes, Rachael!" the little boy half-sang.

"Thank you," Abby added, only just tall enough to retrieve a plate of her own from the countertop.

"And the daily stampede begins," Circe said with a laugh as she stood from the table. "The others will be down before too long. You had best get some food before our little Christian eats it all."

Taking the advice to heart, Sam followed Elaine and Hunter over to stove and loaded up a plate. That done, he sat back at the table with them and watched 'the others' troop into the kitchen.

The first was a boy who couldn't have been any older than Kevin was. He was about average in height and the brown curls that fell into his eyes nearly concealed the fact that they were blue. He eyed the three newcomers nervously for a moment before filling himself a plate and sitting down at the table.

The second was a woman probably closer to Dean's age. Her skin was a deep chocolate brown color and her hair was jet black, done up in cornrows on the top of her head while the rest burst out in a mass of curls, not contained in any way. In a way, her expression almost reminded Sam of Dean, too: ready for either a good time or to kill anything that moved. It all depended on how the wind shifted.

The last was a man Sam would have guessed to be maybe a little older than Dean, only a few inches shorter than his older brother. Where the boy had very pale skin, this man had more of a tanned tone. He was very well muscled and his shaggy blond hair fell to the tops of his shoulders. One green eye and one brown eye glared out of his face as he surveyed the three of them. He grunted a 'hello' to Hunter and Elaine before fixing himself a plate and heading back out of the kitchen.

"Don't mind Atreus, Sam. He'll be sociable when he feels like it," Weaver informed him around a mouthful of bacon.

"Atreus?" Sam clarified.

"Yes, anyone who enters the Circle of Moonrise is permitted to choose their own name. Being fully self-actualized is an important part of learning spell craft. Atreus Saint-Clair is the name he chose for himself," Circe explained.

"So that's...Atreus like the myth? The Bloody House of Atreus?" Sam clarified again.

"I know of no other," the high priestess said by way of answer.

"That's...a very interesting choice," Sam said slowly before beginning to munch on his eggs. With a choice like that, there was definitely some sort of history there.

"Well, when you get to pick for yourself, you're definitely not gonna go with Ann," the new woman said, reaching her hand across the table to shake Sam's. "Name's Sekhmet Walker."

"Sam Winchester," he returned.

"The wallflower's Kestrel Markus," Sekhmet introduced for the boy when he remained silent. "He's new."

"Hi," Kestrel said, barely looking up from his food.

"Good to meet you both," Sam said, gaze lingering on Kestrel a moment before getting himself to ask, "So how many of you live here?"

"The only one you haven't met yet is my husband, Will, but he leaves for work very early," Alma answered. "We're a small circle, so we've got to take care of each other."

"Though, I suppose now that we're mostly here, Hunter ought to be able to share the _good_ news she has," Circe said, looking expectantly at the gunsmith, who just looked confused for a moment before finally realizing what she meant.

"Oh, that. Well...looks like I'm going to be a mom sometime in March."

For a moment, it didn't seem to sink in, but then Rachael burst out with, "Oh, my God, Hunt, that's amazing!"

"Congrats, lady," Sekhmet put in.

"Who's the lucky fellow? This one perhaps?" Alma asked, glancing in Sam's direction.

"Oh- no," Sam choked out after nearly inhaling a mouthful of bacon. "No, no, no. We've...only known each other about a month."

"Must have been an interesting month, judging by that blush," Sekhmet teased.

"It was Leigh," Hunter answered, immediately killing the playful attitude in the room.

"Really? I- I didn't realize you two...had a thing," Rachael said slowly.

"We didn't," the gunsmith said plainly as she violently chopped up her pancakes. "It was one night. A kid got killed by a werewolf and Leigh was...he was in bad shape over it. He needed somebody. Then the idiot had to up and _die_ on me."

"So...you don't know if it's a boy or girl yet?" Alma asked, trying to steer the conversation in a less tense direction.

"No idea. Could even be both. It's twins."

"And how do you know that already?" Alma continued.

"The...angel of conception told me," Hunter said with a nod. "Somehow I think she might just know what she's talking about. Though...I suppose she could tell me if I asked. She knows the gender of Cas' kid already."

"Well, I might just have to go and have a chat with her myself then," Alma said with a self-satisfied smile, and when Hunter realized what that meant, she began to smile faintly herself.

"Got another one in the oven?"

"That I do. At about four months now, so this little one will really be starting to show in the next few weeks here," Alma said, patting her belly gently.

"It's gonna be a baby brother," Christian insisted, banging his fork against the table.

"You don't know that!" Abby argued, sticking her tongue out at him. "It could be a baby sister. Besides, I'm gonna know before you do."

"There's no guarantee of that, Abby. Drink your orange juice," Alma advised serenely as she took a sip of her tea.

"I'm sorry...guarantee?" Sam repeated.

"Yes. Abby, she...she can see things before they happen...but there's no telling what she might see or when," Alma explained.

"Oh," Sam said softly, forcing back the memory of his own stint with such an ability. God, if Abby experienced some of the things _he_ had..."What sorts of things do you see, Abby?" he asked her.

"Lots'a stuff," the little girl answered, idly pushing a piece of bacon around in the syrup that remained on her plate. "I saw Rachael burning pizza once. And I saw Atreus set a river on fire. Saw Kestrel get beat up. Saw Chris fall out of bed. I saw you talkin' to the wolf people."

"Hold up. What was that? Wolf people?"

"Ah, yes. That," Circe said matter-of-factly. "I had hoped to ease into that, but we've had some visitors to our town recently. A pair of jackals. They've been spotted in town and in the woods. Abby had a vision several weeks ago. It seems they've come to speak with you and Hunter. We've tried, but they will not speak with us. It seems they've been waiting for you to come."

"So...jackals? Wolf people? I mean...what _are_ these guys?" Sam asked

"I could not say exactly. They were human once, I would guess, but the magic they are possessed of is very ancient. They are not monsters, if that's what you're fearing."

"Well...that is what one tends to worry about when hearing about _wolf_ people," Sam said.

"The best I can glean from them is that they are servants. I could not guess whom of, but they mean you no harm. If you wish, you might go and speak with them once we've finished eating."

"Harm or no harm, I am definitely not going into the woods unarmed," Sam said before finishing off his tea.

"Amen to that," Hunter said as she nicked the last piece of bacon from his plate, and Sam was just too happy to see her doing it to even be angry about the fact that she'd stolen it from him.

XxX

Sam and Hunter were armed to the teeth and ready to go just as soon as the breakfast dishes were all cleaned up. Elaine had offered to join, but Circe advised against it, stating it was only the two of them these beings wanted to speak to. It wasn't too big of a deal, though, as the elder Serra seemed quite content to stay behind and catch up with Rachael.

"So...Elaine and Rachael," Sam started once the two of them were out of sight of the house. "They seem..."

"Ready to tear each other's clothes off and fuck like bunnies, don't care who knows it?" Hunter finished, grinning wryly as they moved through the trees.

"Pretty much."

"Yeah, those two have been like that ever since I've known them. You may not know this, but Elaine did her foster care stint here in Fall River. She and Rachael met up, became friends, and they've been dancing around each other ever since. Mer and I keep pushing, but...yeah, no dice. Elaine isn't usually shy about her interests, but Rachael was the only friend she had for a good while and I guess she doesn't want to risk that bond, despite how obvious it is that Rachael would run away with her in a heartbeat. Sound like anyone you know?" Hunter asked with a sigh, and Sam sighed right along with her, knowing exactly who she was talking about.

"So how did _you_ meet up with these guys?" he asked her after several minutes had passed.

"Ah...well, my folks were good friends with Circe. I was only sixteen when they were killed in the Packwood Takedown. I lived here for a few years before setting up shop in Remington. Circe still likes to keep an eye on me...favor to my parents, I guess. She even gave me a charm," Hunter said, lifting up the slender length of leather thong around her neck to reveal the small circular pendant that hung from it. Some sort of script Sam couldn't make out was etched into the silver. He'd seen her wearing the pendant, but he'd never commented on it before.

"And are they all actual witches or are most of them just Wiccans?" Sam continued to ask.

"It's a pretty even split. Kestrel's a Wiccan. So are Alma and Will, but Abby has actual abilities, so they find it safer to live among the Circle. Rachael started off as just a Wiccan, but she's been learning to generate spirit forms. The others, though, they all have natural abilities...things they were born with, I mean."

"Such as...?"

"Sekhmet was born human, so she isn't a skinwalker, but she was born with the ability to shift into animal forms. I promise she isn't a monster; she's in complete control when she shifts. We have yet to find another person with this exact ability, though."

"And the others?" Sam pressed.

"I'm not...really sure how to explain Atreus' ability. You'd have to see it for yourself. He can...reopen old wounds. He makes people bleed," she said, a disquiet look coming to her eyes.

"So? Pretty much anybody who's even remotely connected to this life could say the same," Sam pointed out, even though he could tell this was different by the look in Hunter's eyes.

"Like I said...you'll have to see it for yourself."

"And...Circe and Weaver?"

"Weaver's a psychic. She doesn't like to broadcast it. She learned to keep quiet at a time when speaking up could get you killed."

"What does that mean?"

"Circe and Weaver...they're the leaders. They're very powerful. I don't know how long they've been around exactly, but they've seen a lot. At this point, I think they're in it to help people who need helping."

"Well, if that's true, then it's great," Sam said, not quite looking at her as they continued their trek.

"What? You don't trust them?"

"In my experience, witches who want to help are more the exception than the rule," he said quietly, remembering no shortage of nasty hex bags he and Dean had run afoul of.

"Well, if you can't trust them...can you at least trust _me?_" Hunter asked him, coming to a stop in the middle of the path.

Sam came to a stop a few paces ahead of her, not looking back at her for several moments. Did he trust her? He shouldn't. For both their sakes, he shouldn't let her into his life...and she shouldn't let him into hers...but for some stupid, dangerous reason, neither of them seemed to be listening to their better instincts. Smiling sadly, he finally turned to her. "Yeah...I think I can do that."

"Good," Hunter said, and for a strangely peaceful moment they just stood smiling at each other, but that moment was interrupted by a shifting of rocks on the ground. Hunter's eyes widened and she gasped. "Sam!"

Sam immediately spun around, seeing two black-furred jackals emerge onto the path. Instinctively, his hand went to his gun, but he didn't draw it. For several tense moments, the two pairs just stared at each other, each seizing the other up.

"Hello," Sam said after a time. "My name is Sam Winchester. This is Hunter Silver. We were told you wanted to speak with us."

For another long moment, the two jackals just stared at them. Their eyes were unlike any wolf Sam had ever seen before. With skin walkers it was easy for them to pass as true canines, but these two...there was unmistakable intelligence in their eyes...and as Sam watched, the wolfish faces that framed them began to change. The black fur receded, leaving behind light coffee-colored skin and sleek black hair. Canine joints crunched and reformed into human forms and before too long, a man and a woman were standing across from them. The woman wore a black halter top and paneled skirt and the man wore only a pair of black jeans. Around their necks were two crystal pendants that Sam at first thought were crosses, but that he soon recognized to be ankhs.

"You are Sam Winchester?" the man repeated.

"The one and only," he answered with a shrug.

"And you are Hunter Silver?" the woman asked the gunsmith.

"Ditto," Hunter replied, moving to stand at Sam's side.

"Now...we kind of have a lot going on, so...what is it you want to speak to us about?" Sam continued.

"We are aware of the present situation. We come to you now because...because we are the same," the man said, looking confused as he spoke, and Sam was no less confused.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know of a better way to explain it. My memory isn't fully intact. Maybe a better place to begin would be with names. I am called Tekhenu, but most call me Tek, and this woman is my mate, Kiah," Tek introduced.

"You aren't skinwalkers," Hunter said decisively. "So what are you?"

"We're servants," Kiah answered.

"That doesn't help so much with the whole what thing. Servant is a function, not a state of being. If you aren't human, you're something else. What is that something?" Hunter pressed.

"That _is_ the something. We were human once...a very long time ago...but we gave ourselves in service to our master. We _are_ servants," Tek explained.

"Servants of _who_, then? Who's your master?" Sam asked.

"He is the Embalmer. He is Foremost of the Westerners. He is Guardian of the Scales. He is guide and protector. He is the son of compassion and he is the one who remains after all hope is gone," Kiah claimed proudly.

"All fine titles, I'm sure, but they're still not names," Hunter pointed out.

"He has many. You might know him by a different name, but the one we call him is Inpu. We've served him faithfully for five thousand years," Tek said.

"Five _thousand?_" Sam repeated, eyes widening.

"Shoot, hope the retirement plan's good," Hunter muttered.

"That is the hope," Kiah said with a slight smile. "He's had many servants through the ages, but they've all gone to their rest now...all except us."

"And why is that?" Sam asked.

"We aren't...really sure," Tek answered after a moment of pained silence. "We only know that we swore this oath all those centuries ago so that we could escape death. We _had_ to survive to the present age."

"Why?" Hunter asked.

"To witness the coming of the Rose of Sharon," Kiah answered solemnly, and at her words, Sam and Hunter shared a concerned look.

"How do you know about her?"

"We don't know," Tek repeated with a pained look. "We only know that we have to help. We don't know what, but something happened a very long time ago...and it's about to happen again. We won't let it," he said firmly.

"And you have no idea what that something is?" Sam asked, still uncertain whether to trust the pair or not. There was no telling if the event they were to prevent was the baby's death...or its birth.

"No. All we know is that there are seven keys. These keys will unlock the gates of memory," Kiah told them. "I don't know what they are, but I can tell you that two of the keys are standing before us."

Again, Sam and Hunter looked at each other. Sam had told Hunter about Crowley's theory of her trust being the fifth item, but...a second key? Which one could it be? Did it somehow mean that..._Sam_ was one of the keys? Which one?

Shaking off the sudden worry, Sam turned his attention back to the two servants. "I'm not sure how, but you two seem to know about the ritual. Does the name Israfil mean anything to either of you?"

Both sets of brown eyes widened at this. The pair turned to look at each other at this, sharing a similar glance of concern.

"It's strange. My mind says no..." Tek began.

"...but my heart tells a different story," Kiah finished, her hand finding its way to her heart...as if something had hurt her. "I don't know why, but there's _pain_ in that name."

"Yeah," Sam said quietly. "That seems to be the general consensus on this one. Well, if that's all you've got for us, we should probably be getting back."

"We haven't given you reason to trust us yet," Tek said.

"Not really, no," Hunter agreed.

"We understand. I believe we'll be able to prove it to you with time. Just know that if you ever need us, you have only to call out," Kiah told them.

"You should also be aware that ours aren't the only eyes watching you," Tek warned them before he and Kiah turned and began to walk back into the woods. As they moved, Sam happened to notice a strange set of symbols tattooed into their backs. Just before they began their shift back to jackal form, Sam whipped out his phone and snapped a quick picture of the twin images. Then, almost in the blink of an eye, they were jackals again, and when they turned to face them one last time, Sam noticed something he hadn't before. On their chests were two very distinct white blazes of fur, almost in the shape of ankhs...just like the pendants they'd been wearing. Then, just as suddenly as they'd appeared, they were gone.

"Well," Hunter started with a loud crack of her neck, "nothing like a healthy dose of paranoia to help settle your breakfast."

"What do you suppose any of that meant?"

"I dunno, but this whole business just keeps getting screwier and screwier. We should probably talk to Circe about losing whatever tail they were talking about."

"Yeah...right," Sam said slowly as they started to head back. If what they'd said was true, then Sam was either off his game or they had something majorly bad on their trail.

XxX

"Never did much like this whole bait hunting business," Dorothy commented as she leaned back against the tree she was sitting in. Merry wanted it to appear like she was alone, so she'd insisted on Dorothy waiting it out in the tree while she parked herself on the bench below it.

"Well, maybe you don't, but some of us prefer to use what we have. Don't forget, this is _my_ hunt, sweetheart," Merry reminded her as she gave her hair a significant toss, making sure the red strands were visible in the slight breeze. They were just starting to lose the last few rays of sunlight. They hadn't had any leads so far on what their target might be, so Merry had decided to see if they could draw the creature out into the open just by dangling her in front of it. They'd had no luck so far, but Merry was hopeful for after dark.

"Yeah, and I'm the one who volunteered to back you up."

"If you've got any better ideas, let's hear 'em. Seems to me this is better than waiting around for another innocent woman to get killed."

Dorothy sighed. "Yeah...maybe you're right. Guess I can be grateful for the fact it's not both of you out here. I might just go crazy if I had to watch even one more redhead do something stupid and get hurt."

"Hey...you and Charlie...what was going on between the two of you anyway?" Merry found herself asking before she could stop.

"Oh, now that's just none of your business, kid," Dorothy grated. She didn't want to talk about what was or was not between her and Charlie Bradbury because even _she_ wasn't sure anymore.

"Well, that hurts my feelings, Dorothy," a painfully familiar voice suddenly jumped into their conversation. Both their heads snapped up to behold Charlie approaching them through the evening mist that covered the park. "Why wouldn't you want to talk about me? I thought we had something special."

Dorothy immediately leapt down from the tree, landing beside Merry as she jumped up from the bench. Both had their guns drawn in a heartbeat.

"_Charlie_ and I had something. You've got no right to talk, you demon bitch!" Dorothy snapped at the enemy who wore the face of the only woman she'd ever cared anything for.

"I'm still Charlie, though, hon. I'm not just some random demon riding her ass while she's still in here with me..._screaming_. No...I _am_ her, and I like the way things are now. I would've thought you did, too...given what we _did_ after Dean turned me," Charlie said, continuing to draw closer to them.

"Dorothy?" Merry asked uncertainly, her gaze flickering between the two women for a moment.

"Shut up!" the hunter out of time snarled at both of them. "Don't you _dare_ try to claim I consented to that. I was _tied up!_"

"Mm, yes...maybe at first you didn't consent, but you _liked it._ You _know_ you did," the demon hissed as she licked her lips...and for Dorothy, the motion of her tongue immediately brought back to mind the way it had felt...that mouth pressed passionately against her clit while she writhed beneath it.

"_Stop it!_" Dorothy shouted, feeling fear start to creep in around the edges of her calm. She kept her gun aimed at Charlie, but her hands were starting to shake. Charlie just laughed.

"Let's not play games here, Dorothy. You aren't going to shoot me and you know it," she said, and while Dorothy continued to hesitate, Charlie used her power to slam Merry back against the tree, keeping her pinned there.

"You," Merry choked out as she struggled against the demonic hold. "It was you. _You_ killed all those girls."

"Yeah, it was me," Charlie said with a chuckle, coming to a stop just inches from the quivering muzzle of Dorothy's pistol. "I figured if I just kept at it long enough one of you would notice and come down to investigate. Guess I was right."

"What do you want?" Merry demanded as best she could.

"It's very simple," Charlie said as she took hold of Dorothy's gun and slowly forced her to lower it, sneering at her all the while. "Dean wants the First Blade back. Where is it?"

"We...we don't have it," Dorothy said, feeling herself on the verge of a complete breakdown. This was the first time she'd seen Charlie since...since it happened.

"I never imagined you did, but you _do_ know where it is. I'm betting the angel has it, so why don't you give him a call."

"What'll you do...if we don't?" Merry pressed.

"Mm...maybe we'll go find your sister...have ourselves a nice repeat of that hot little menage a trois we had last year. That was fun, wasn't it?" she asked, glancing over Dorothy's shoulder at Merry. "Only I think there'll be more knives involved this time."

"Don't you touch...my sister!" Merry growled.

"You know what? I've got a better idea," Charlie said as she easily slipped the gun from Dorothy's hands and walked past her, leaving her standing there, frozen. Then she moved toward Merry, pressing the gun to her temple as she turned back to Dorothy. "Dorothy..._you_ call him...or I'll blow her precious brains all over the park."

"Dorothy, don't!" Merry pleaded with her. "Don't do it."

"Do it _now._"

"If Cas comes...she'll call Dean. You _can't!_"

Under any other circumstances imaginable, Dorothy wouldn't have done it. She wouldn't have given in; but it seemed that every skill, every trick she'd ever learned in her life, had utterly deserted her in this moment. She was trapped with no way out.

_Castiel...can you hear me?_ she prayed silently.

XxX

Cas had been asleep when he heard Dorothy's prayer, but the moment he became aware of it, he was awake instantly.

_Castiel, I don't know if you can hear me, but Charlie's here. She wants the First Blade. If you don't come...she's going to kill Merry._

"I'm coming," he said quietly without even a second thought, but before he could take wing, Lailah was standing in his doorway, looking almost angry.

"Don't," she ordered firmly.

"Lailah-"

"Don't go out there. Not on your own. Not again. You might not get so lucky this time. I know you don't care about your own, but how many times are you going to risk your daughter's life?"

"If I don't go, they will die. They _need_ me," he argued with her. "I _have_ to go."

"If you're going, you're not going alone. You're not leaving me here this time. Heal my wings."

"What?"

"I said heal my wings!" she snapped at him. "I'm going to make sure you're looked after this time. None of the others can do that. I know you would prefer me to be safe, but this is my _purpose._ Let me fulfill it. Let me protect my child. Let me _be_ a _mother._"

Castiel stared at her for several long moments before finally nodding his consent. He hadn't offered before because he wasn't sure what the effects might be, but if it was what she wanted, he would grant it. Standing from his bed, he held his hand out to her.

"Give me your hand."

When she did, Castiel could feel the now familiar energy swirling within his being, harmonizing between himself and his daughter before it passed to Lailah. He could see the agony in both her forms as the cosmic energy blistered her spirit with its fire and that strange chorus of Heaven and Hell finally reached its crescendo when the power burst from her body as a magnificent set of newborn wings. Lailah collapsed into his arms with a final cry of pain.

These wings were different from his. Where his new wings were plainly equal parts dark and divine, Lailah's were holy light with only a hint of dark fire at their core. Whatever it meant, though, Lailah would at least be able to fly once again.

"Will you be able to handle a short flight?" he asked her.

"Yes...I'll be fine," she said, though her form still trembled slightly as she stood on her own. "We need to go."

Faster than the speed of a thought, the two angels were gone. However, when they appeared in Aberdeen, Mississippi, a ring of holy oil immediately ignited around them. Glaring, Cas focused his attention on Charlie, who was already circling them. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Merry and Dorothy pinned to a nearby tree.

"What is it you want, Charlie?" he asked her.

"I'm betting you already know, feathers. Dean wants the First Blade back."

"Well, as you can see, we don't have it. I have no intention of telling you where it is."

"Then I think you can guess what's going to happen here," she started as she drifted away from the circle. "I'm just gonna cut on these two until you tell me what I want to hear."

"Cas, I really hope you're not that stupid," Merry groaned, a very distinct bruise already marring the left side of her face. "We've had enough stupidity here for one night."

"You realize we can resurrect them...if it comes to that," Cas said, the last part only slightly hesitant. With the world as upside down as it already was, he didn't want to take the risk of any of his friends being dead for even a moment.

"Yeah, I know, but you know what the trouble with you good guys is?" Charlie asked as she pulled out a knife, using it to cut open the front of Dorothy's shirt. "You just can't stand to watch other people in pain. I predict you'll break a long time before I need to go that far." With that, Charlie started to carve a thin line from the waistline of Dorothy's pants up to just between her breasts.

"Castiel," Dorothy hissed, fighting to hold back her pain. "This is my fault. I deserve this. Whatever you do, don't listen to her."

"I could do this all night, Cas," Charlie warned him as she continued to carve lines in Dorothy's skin. "What's it gonna be, angel boy?"

"There may be something I can do about this," Castiel whispered to Lailah. "But you'll need to be ready. Are you prepared to step in if it should go wrong?"

"I am, but...Castiel...I'm not certain how many times you can risk doing this without harm to yourself or the child."

"I have to try," Cas said, focusing on the ring of holy fire that surrounded them. Connecting to the barely conscious energy that was his daughter, he wished for what it was he needed.

_We need to erase this barrier. Please help me._

Cas didn't even really need to finish the thought. It took only a moment for the energy to resonate between them. When it had reached its peak, he was able to sweep away the circle with ease...but just as soon as it was done, he felt the energy drain right out of him, revealing just how difficult the feat had actually been.

The angel collapsed, falling to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut. He had only a moment more of consciousness to hear Merry cry out his name before he was completely gone.

XxX

Dean, meanwhile, was sitting in a high end hotel suite somewhere in New York, swigging a beer while he waited on the results of his little gamble. When he felt the energy start to drain from his body, he sneered, finishing up the bottle before going to collapse on the bed.

"Knew you couldn't resist tryin' to help people, little angel," he growled in pleasure just before losing consciousness himself.

XxX

_Dean comes to with a groan and a shake of his head. The last thing he remembers is shouting at Cas...and when he sees what he's woken up to, he would almost prefer that._

_He's not sure where they are. All he can see is Cas, unconscious and nailed to a cross. His body trembles with every breath he fights to take._

_"Cas!" he shouts, trying to run forward, to reach him, __**anything**__ to stop this from happening...but just like before, he finds himself stopped. He can't get any closer_

_"Dean..." Cas calls out weakly, as if in a nightmare._

_"Cas, I'm here! I'm __**right here!**__" he shouts, pounding his fists against whatever it is that's keeping them apart. "Just hold on!"_

_"Dean..." Cas whispers, his strength clearly fading. Dean can't see what does it, but something pierces the angel's side and his eyes open briefly as he screams in pain._

_"__**Cas!**__" he cries out, fists pounding desperately against the invisible barrier. There has to be __**something**__ he can do to stop this!_

_"__**You**__ did this to him," a voice that sounds strangely like his own hisses in his ear. "Castiel is suffering right now, and it's all because of you. I know you've tried to tell yourself different, but the truth is...you were right in the first place. You __**poison**__ everything you touch. Everything you love turns to ash because of you. Nothing that comes from you can ever be any good. Because of you, Castiel will be __**destroyed!**__"_

_"__**No! NO!**__" he screams. "__**CAS!**__"_

_"Dean!" Cas cries out, body twisting in agony. "Please...save me!"_

_"Cas," he whispers in anguish as he falls to his knees, hands pressed uselessly against the unseen surface while the angel's screams fill his ears._

_"This is your punishment, Dean," the voice taunts him once again. "This is your Hell."_

XxX


	10. Maddened by the Stars

(A/N) Wow, sorry these updates are starting to take so much longer. Thank you to those of you who are sticking with me. I'll try and get these out quicker. Hope you all enjoy the new chapter. We are just on the verge of something you have all been very much looking forward to. *evil grin*

**The Rose of Sharon**

_Chapter 10: Maddened by the Stars_

Crowley was almost surprised that the two angels left him alone in the bunker. He knew it wasn't a matter of trust. None of them trusted him and they were right not to. He certainly didn't trust any of them...or at least, he didn't _want_ to. It was sometimes difficult to argue with the traces of addiction still lingering in him. However, the fact that the angels had left the bunker in his care probably had more to do with the panicked manner in which they'd taken off than anything else, and this was mostly confirmed by the similar manner in which they returned.

Lailah landed in the library with Dorothy and Merry clinging to her shoulders and an unconscious Castiel in her arms.

"Oh, look. Another wild night out on the town," he snarked at the bedraggled band of warriors as he kicked his feet up on the table he was sitting at. "What _have_ we been up to this time, darlings?"

"No bullshit right now, Crowley. We've kind of just been had by a Knight of Hell," Merry said as she led a shell-shocked Dorothy out of the room. Lailah soon headed out herself, probably to put Castiel to bed, and when Crowley poofed over to the angel's room, he found himself not wrong. Lailah was laying him down on his bed, making sure he was comfortable.

"Seriously, angel cakes, what happened out there?" he asked her.

"I think it was a set up," Lailah explained without looking at him. "Charlie had them and we went to help. She tried to trap us, but Castiel was able to erase the holy fire. It was too much, though...he passed out. Charlie disappeared the moment he was unconscious. The only thing I can't understand...is why Dean would want to knock him out intentionally if he knows it will also take him down."

"Seems to me it would behoove our Deanmon to learn whether or not Cas _could_ be contained with holy fire. A short nap is hardly an exorbitant price to pay for information like that. Beyond that, your guess is as good as mine."

XxX

Lailah had healed both Merry and Dorothy before bringing the group back to the bunker, so there were no wounds to see to when Merry led Dorothy to the room she was occupying. When Merry sat down on her bed, she pulled Dorothy down beside her, gently but firmly.

"You okay?" Merry asked, trying to get the other hunter to look her in the eyes.

"Merry, I'm fine; it...it's nothing," she said, trying to pull herself away without success.

"That's the biggest load of bull I've ever heard. You _froze_ back there. What happened with you and Charlie?"

"Merry, really, it's not-"

"No, it really is. What did she do to you?" Merry pressed.

"That's just it. I don't think you can call it rape...if you wanted it," Dorothy hissed. "The only thing is...I can't know if _she_ did. If anyone was raped that day, it was Charlie. I can't know if the demon was telling me the truth when she said she's wanted me this whole time. I just...I don't know."

"Okay...I get it. I see," Merry said quietly as she rested a hand on Dorothy's shoulder. "Would it help at all for you to not go out on cases? We don't know when we're going to run into them."

"No," Dorothy said right away, shaking her head. "That's not going to help anything. I just...need to work through it. Feel free to slap me if I freeze in the field again."

"Nah, I don't know about slapping. If I can, I'll give you a good shake, though," she said as she pulled her into a sort of sideways hug.

"Right. I'll remember that," Dorothy said, not quite hugging back, but not pushing Merry away, either.

XxX

While Sam had gotten used to seeing Crowley around the bunker, it was a little jarring to see him suddenly appear in Circe Jones' kitchen. The knee jerk reaction was to reach for his gun, to which the demon king's response was to shake his head in apparent disappointment.

"Really, Moose? And after we've been through so much together. Guess I've wasted my time coming all the way up here to bring you the news."

"What? What's happened?" he asked as he, Hunter, and Elaine slowly lowered the weapons they'd drawn. The other three still sitting at the table with them, Rachael, Atreus, and Sekhmet, relaxed only slightly.

"Oh, nothing. Your little angel just went and got himself knocked out a second time. The other knight set a trap for Merry and Dorothy and he had to go spring them. Blew away a circle of holy fire like it was nothing, but it looks like that kind of trick was just a little too much for Cas to handle. He's out cold again."

"But nobody else got hurt?" Elaine asked, looking worried.

"Nothing a little normal angel mojo couldn't take care of."

"Hey, Crowley, while we've got you here, you don't happen to read ancient Egyptian, do you?" Sam asked, picking up a printout of the image from his phone.

"Yes. Why?" Crowley asked.

"I know these are hieroglyphs, but it looks like they're pretty old. We haven't been able to translate them. Think you could read them for us?"

"What am I now? Your bloody reference text?"

"You'd stand to gain just as much by learning what these two jackals are. I'm sure the tail you put on us would love to know the answer, too."

"You accuse me of-"

"Accuse? No," Sam interrupted him. "We _know_ you've got somebody tailing us. No accusations involved. So...wanna give us a hand here?"

Crowley rolled his eyes before coming to take the the printout from him. "Fine, fine, fine. It says 'My bones are strong, my flesh is resilient, and my heart is true. I will show compassion to all who come to me and I will guide every lost soul through the darkness. I will go as others have need of me unto the final breaking of the world. I am, now and for all eternity, a servant of Anubis.' Satisfied?"

"Anubis?" Hunter repeated. "Like..._the_ Anubis? The god of mummification?"

"I imagine so. Do you know of many other jackal-headed gods?" Crowley asked her.

"But...why would they call him Inpu?" Elaine asked.

"Maybe because that's what his _name_ is. That's what it says in the hieroglyphs; I just thought I'd go with a name you idiots might actually know. The word Anubis is Greek, not Egyptian, thank you very much."

"Another pagan god," Sam said quietly. "Now I _really_ don't know whether or not those two can be trusted. I've never met a god who was particularly partial to humans."

"Well, it's not every day gods go around passing out immortality to humans. This one might have something going for him," Hunter speculated.

Crowley might have said something else, but he fell completely still and silent when Circe and Weaver entered the kitchen.

"_You,_" the king of Hell snarled, eyes narrowing.

"Hello, Fergus," Circe returned calmly. "It's been a long time."

"Not long enough. And the name's Crowley, if you don't mind," he snapped at her.

"Whatever makes you happy," the old witch said, moving around him to start making herself a cup of tea. "Can I get you anything?"

"Yeah. Your head on a plate and the rest of your body cut into a thousand pieces."

"Mm, no. I think we're having tuna melts for lunch today."

For a moment, Crowley looked like he was contemplating snapping the old matriarch's neck, but he ultimately turned back to Sam, features twisted with bitter anger. "Excuse me, Moose, must dash. I need to go wash off the stink of witch," he said before disappearing. Sam was left glancing between Circe and the spot where he'd been.

"What was that all about?"

"I'm sure you know that when one becomes a demon, he forgets who he was as a human. He forgets the things he loved. Hatred is different, though. A demon's hate does not die in Hell," Circe said quietly, keeping her focus on the tea she was making.

"So...you _knew_ Crowley when he was human?" Sam asked, eyes widening slightly.

"Yes."

"Just how old _are_ you?" Sam found himself asking before he could stop.

Circe laughed as she and Weaver joined them at the table. "You should know better than to ask a lady that question, Sam Winchester, but I believe you know Fergus McLeod's dates of birth and death. I think you can extrapolate a ball park figure from that. So...who's hungry?"

"Hold on a second. How did you know him? Why didn't the two of you get along?"

"That, I think, is a story for another time," the old witch said serenely.

Sam let it go, but he didn't stop thinking about it. Just who was Circe Jones? What sort of person aroused _that_ kind of hatred in the king of Hell?

XxX

Sam wasn't sure what it was that woke him up that night, but the sight he woke up to was starting to become familiar.

While they were staying with the Circle of Moonrise, he, Hunter, and Elaine were sleeping in some sort of large guest dorm that housed several beds. He and Elaine always hit the sack at a reasonable hour, but Hunter would always stay up late, working at the small desk at the end of the room. She'd improved her eating habits, but proper sleep was still a problem. Tonight Hunter seemed to have fallen asleep at the desk, a stripped cartridge lying beside her head on the wooden surface. As per usual, she was dressed in nothing but a bra and underwear. He didn't think she had any actual sleepwear.

Sighing, Sam crawled out of bed and walked over to the desk. Hunter was so out of it, she didn't even stir when he gathered her in his arms and carried her to her bed. He felt guilty for it, but he couldn't quite help letting his eyes rove over her figure as he drew the blankets over her. She really was beautiful. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't thought about...what it might be like with her...what it might be like to kiss her lips...her breasts...to _touch_ her...to have her touch him. He could barely keep the thought of her hands on him from going straight to his groin. But then he would remember that she was just as fragile as he was. It wouldn't be just sex with her. She understood...in a way no woman he'd ever been with before ever could have. Could he really risk harm to that? And for perhaps the first time in his life, Sam thought he really understood why Dean had been afraid to let himself be with Cas.

However, as with most things in Sam Winchester's life, the situation turned on a dime. His thoughts were brought to a screeching halt when a blood curdling shriek filled his ears. It took him several moments to realize the inhuman sound had come from Hunter. Before he could even think about reaching for a weapon, he felt the tip of a hair thin blade against his neck. From what he could see in the dim lamplight, Hunter's eyes were wild and wide with terror.

"Hunter...calm down," he said slowly, not daring to move. "It's all right. You're safe. It's me, Sam."

Slowly, much slower than he would have liked, recognition started to return to her eyes.

"It's Sam, Hunter. You're okay. I'm not going to let anything happen to you," he soothed her, risking a gentle touch to her shoulder...and when she finally seemed to understand what was happening, Sam felt the pressure of the blade drop away. Hunter collapsed back on the bed, curling into a ball. When Sam allowed the tension to ease from his body, he looked up to see Elaine with her gun drawn, staring at him in shock.

"Sam...what did you do?"

Before Sam could answer, the door to the room opened, allowing light from the hallway to spill in. Circe, Alma, and Rachael were all standing there.

"Elaine," Circe began calmly. "I think it would be best if you stayed with Rachael tonight."

"Right," Elaine said with a small nod, tossing her gun into her bag and gathering it up before quickly following Rachael out the door.

"I...I didn't- what _happened?_" Sam tried to ask, his gaze flitting between Hunter's trembling form and the old witch.

"As with most who choose this life, Hunter has her own demons that haunt her steps," Circe said, her gaze on him almost imperious. "Perhaps she will open up to you." Then, without further admonition or explanation, the witch closed the door and left the two of them alone. Not knowing what else to do, Sam sat down beside Hunter, resting a hand on her shoulder again. She flinched at the contact, but she still allowed it.

"I'm sorry," he said after a while. "I don't know what just happened, but...I only wanted you to be able to sleep better."

"I know," she whispered, reaching a hand up from the tight ball she was curled into to rest it on top of his. "I know you didn't..._mean_ for this to happen...but I can't help it. I'm just...damaged goods. That's all."

"Aren't we all," Sam said quietly, running a thumb soothingly along the warm skin of her shoulder. "That's not gonna stop me from wanting to help."

Hunter chuckled bitterly at this. She didn't say anything, just slipped her hand into his, twining their fingers together and gripping tightly. Sam didn't say anything for a good while either, but his curiosity was eventually piqued when he saw the glint of the blade she'd had on him earlier.

"What's with the knife?" he asked her. "That can't be any thicker than a strand of hair."

"It was in my braid," she answered, and Sam was confused by this until he realized that the braid she normally wore on the right side of her head was undone. So _that_ was why she always wore her hair like that.

"Pretty slick."

"You know about the Packwood Takedown, yeah...but I don't suppose you know it went down like it did _because_ of me."

"No...I didn't."

"After what happened...I promised myself I'd never be without a blade again...so that stays on me always."

"Well...would you mind if I put it on the table? You'll still be able to reach it; it would just make it easier to fit onto the bed," Sam said. After thinking about it a moment, Hunter nodded. Sam gingerly picked up the slender blade and laid it on the bedside table. Then he slowly pulled Hunter into his arms, happy when she shifted out of the fetal position she was curled into, quietly welcoming the embrace.

Neither of them said anything more that night, not commenting on the position they found themselves in, and Sam not asking just what it was that hid itself in Hunter's nightmares. When she felt ready...if she ever _trusted_ him enough...she would tell him about it. Although he had to admit that part of him was afraid to earn her trust, as it could so easily be twisted and used against them. Sam managed to push that fear aside for the moment, though, just continuing to gently stroke Hunter's back until she'd fallen asleep in his arms. The sight of her sleeping, at peace, even if only for a moment, finally allowed him to drop back to sleep himself, holding her close to him until morning.

XxX

Kestrel wished he could say that waking up to screams in the middle of the night was unusual for him, but sadly, that wasn't the case. His folks had loved to scream and fight, at each other and at him. Screaming at him was the last thing they'd done as they were throwing him out of the house. The only comfort he'd had from that moment was that it was the last time anyone would ever call him David. After that last fight, he was Kestrel and there was no going back.

That didn't mean, however, that screaming in the middle of the night didn't frighten him anymore. No. He'd had trouble sleeping the rest of the night, even after Sekhmet had come to check on him. It had made staying awake in class the next day more than a little difficult and it was the reason why he was walking out of seventh period feeling guilty.

Even though he'd said she didn't have to, Circe was seeing him through his senior year of high school and had told him she'd be happy to help send him to college if he had any desire to go. Falling asleep in class was a pretty poor way to repay her kindness. Maybe he should talk to Rachael about a sleep spell while their house guests were staying with them?

Kestrel was just about at the main entrance when he was stopped by the flash of a camera in his eyes. He was about to give the cameraman an angry glare, but he found his eyes drawn to the most beautiful man he'd ever seen, grinning as he pointed his camera at him.

The other boy was a few inches taller than him, with pale skin and short black hair. He was slender, but unlike Kestrel, he didn't come across as scrawny. He wore his frame well, leaning easily against the wall as he snapped more pictures. When he finally lowered the camera, Kestrel found himself struck by his hazel eyes. It was like they shifted from moment to moment, first a little more blue, then a little more green. Whatever the case was, they were the most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen.

The other boy's sultry grin widened as they continued to stare at each other. "Sorry about that. Just had to get a picture of those curls in this light," he said as he pushed himself away from the wall, moving closer to Kestrel.

"Oh," Kestrel started, feeling himself start to blush as he brushed his hair out of his eyes. "Th-thanks...I guess."

"Haven't seen you around before," the other boy commented, moving closer all the while.

Kestrel swallowed heavily, feeling like he might just pass out on the spot. "I...I'm new," he choked out. "Just moved to town. My name's Kestrel Markus."

"Kestrel?" the boy repeated, raising an eyebrow in amusement. "I like it. It's right up there with mine."

"What...what is it?" Kestrel managed to make himself ask. Goddess, but he was tripping all over himself.

"What's what?" the boy asked, keeping his gaze fixed on Kestrel's. He didn't quite know how, but they'd somehow moved out of the crowd...away from the crush of students trying to escape the building.

"Your...your name," he said, swallowing again. He shuddered when the boy rested a hand on his hip.

The boy continued to smile as he leaned in close, answering softly, "I'm Lastelle."

"Lastelle," Kestrel repeated, loving the way the name slid so smoothly off his tongue, leaving a spark of heat at the back of his throat to slip deliciously down into his stomach. Fuck it all, but he was getting an erection and he didn't care _who_ knew it.

"Yes. Lastelle Astin. I'm new, too," he said, eyes darting briefly down to Kestrel's lips. They were barely inches apart now.

"Then...then why would you have seen me before?" Kestrel asked with a high laugh, sense returning for hardly more than a minute.

"Seen you around town, I mean. I've lived here my whole life. I just switched schools. Had a bit of trouble at the last one," he said, his hand slipping around to Kestrel's back, a single finger sliding across a small strip of bare skin just above his waistline.

"What kind of trouble?" Kestrel asked, drawing a shuddering breath at the sudden contact.

"The public indecency kind," Lastelle answered, giving a subtle roll of his hips and allowing his crotch to brush against Kestrel's hard on. Kestrel gasped rather loudly. He was just about ready to let this boy slam him against the wall and fuck him with everybody watching...but then he happened to glance over Lastelle's shoulder and the spell was broken.

He could see Will out in the parking lot with his old green minivan, waiting to pick him up. All at once, his shame and sense of decency returned to him and he blushed violently, backing away from Lastelle and sliding his messenger bag around to conceal the bump in his jeans.

"You'll...you'll have to tell me about it sometime," he stuttered, the ease and certainty from earlier vanished like a puff of smoke. There was no way this guy was interested in _him_. Not anymore anyway, now he'd suddenly slipped back into shy virgin mode. Instead of dismissal, though, he was rewarded with a playful grin as Lastelle winked at him.

"Yes, I will. I'll also have to take some more pictures sometime. You have the most beautiful blue eyes I've ever seen, Kestrel. I'd _love_ to see those by moonlight," he said with a soft growl. Kestrel actually _groaned_ at the sound. Goddess, but he could come just like this, just listening to Lastelle say these almost dirty things.

"Right...sure," he said in a high voice. "See you tomorrow, maybe? I...I've gotta go."

"Sure. See you tomorrow," he said, watching Kestrel all the way out to the minivan.

Kestrel turned to have one last look at Lastelle before climbing into Will's car, offering the boy a very wide smile.

"Ooh, haven't seen you smile that big in months," Will said as they drove away from the high school. "Have a good day?"

"Yeah," Kestrel sighed dreamily. "I met a _really_ hot guy. I think we might be meeting up again tomorrow."

"Heheh, nice," Will chuckled. Unlike the rest of his family, William Stewart had white skin and a mop of curly red hair. Abby and Christian had a little of his intense red in their hair, but otherwise, they took after their mother. "You be careful, though. No matter what he tells you, you be damn sure to use a condom."

"Will!" Kestrel protested loudly, though he couldn't quite keep his mind from wandering to what sorts of things he and Lastelle could get away with next time they met. As wrapped up as he was in his thoughts of Lastelle, though, it was unfortunate he didn't take another look back after his last look, because then he might have seen the other boy's eyes turn black right before he disappeared out of the crowd.

"Having a bit of fun, are we?" Crowley asked Lastelle as he appeared at one of the school building's back entrances.

"What's wrong with a bit of fun?" the young demon asked his king, leaning against the brick wall with a self-satisfied smirk. "That little slut would have let me throw him down and screw his brains out with the whole school watching. I tell you, boss, I've got this one wrapped around my finger...or certain _other_ appendages. Sorry, Sir, I know I've got a job to do, but I am gonna enjoy this one for every last drop he's got to give."

"Fine, fine, fine. All work and no play, I suppose. The brat will be a fitting reward for you if he proves to be our way into the coven. You won't need to return to Lebanon when Moose and the others leave. Magdalene should be able to keep an eye on things for the moment."

"I'll consider that a raise, Sir. Though, if I might ask...why the sudden interest in the Circle of Moonrise?" Lastelle asked just as Crowley was walking away from him.

Crowley didn't look at him. For a long while, he just stood staring at nothing. When he finally did answer, he was still turned away from him.

"You know what happened to my advisors, of course...the ones who betrayed me for Abaddon."

"Yes," Lastelle answered with a slight shudder. Those poor bastards were trapped in a layer barely above the Cage. Even Winchester wouldn't have been able to free them yet.

"What I have in mind for Circe Jones is _worse,_" he snarled. "For all the hatred I've ever felt in my entire existence, both mortal and demonic...I hate _no one_ the way I hate that witch. No one on this damned rock's ever suffered the way _she's_ going to suffer!"

XxX

_Dean's been to Hell. He's seen Hell on Earth. He can't explain it, but..._

_...this is worse._

_Watching Cas suffer in his name is a thousand times worse than any torment that has ever been inflicted on him. He imagines it would have been something like this if he'd been forced to watch Sam tortured in the Cage...but even then, he would have known the cause of it. He doesn't understand why this is happening. He just knows that Cas is in pain and it's __**his fault.**_

_**Everything **__is his fault._

_The angel's cries for help have long since devolved into a single long shriek of agony as his being is torn apart and sewn back together...and Dean...Dean can do nothing but lean helplessly against the wall that separates them, covering his ears in a fruitless attempt to keep the sound out._

_"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he whispers over and over again, because what else can he do? But then, suddenly, the ever present noise dies down and when he looks up, Cas is looking back at him._

_"Dean?" he whispers, voice surprisingly free of pain, considering that he's still nailed to the cross._

_"Cas?" he calls back just as softly, relief starting to thread through his voice. He can feel tears pricking behind his eyes and he doesn't care. He just needs to know that Cas isn't in pain anymore. "Are you okay?"_

_The angel grunts briefly as the nails holding him dissolve and he collapses to the ground. It doesn't take him more than a few moments to look up again, though, smiling as he meets Dean's gaze._

_"Dean," he repeats quietly, the joy in his voice all the answer the hunter needs. It takes him a moment to stand, but just as soon as he can, he's moving toward the barrier, pressing up against it...as if they could actually embrace._

_"I'm here, Cas," he says softly, pressing his hand against the angel's through the unseen surface. "I'm right here."_

_Neither of them is aware of just how long they stand like that, pressed up against each other, as close to hugging as they can get. Dean's the one to finally break the moment when he backs away, though he keeps his hand pressed against the place where Cas' would be. "Cas...why is this happening? Before...you said somethin' about...savin' me. What is it I need savin' from? What's goin' on?"_

_Cas looks away from him at this, misery etching every line of his face. His hand slowly curls into a fist against the glass._

_"Dean...this isn't your fault. I want you to remember that. You did what you had to. Crowley, he...he tricked you."_

_"Cas? What? Happened?" he asks slowly, afraid to know, but at the same time knowing that he __**has**__ to._

_"Cain's mark didn't release your soul when Metatron...killed you. You awoke as a demon," Cas explains._

_"What?" Dean whispers in shock. "How...why...why don't I know this? I don't remember anything. I just remember Metatron...and Sammy...then nothin'. Cas, where __**are**__ we?"_

_"I believe this is occurring in our minds, Dean. You and I are sharing a dream, even though we can't fully...connect. You don't know what's been happening because this is the last part of your soul that hasn't been corrupted by demonic influence. Somehow...this part of you is still protected."_

_"Damn it!" Dean hisses, pounding a fist against the glass. "How...how long has it been...since I fought Metatron?"_

_"A little more than three months."_

_"And...what have I...been doing, exactly?"_

_"Well...you rebelled against Crowley and you've been leading a campaign to resurrect the Knights of Hell and claim Hell for yourself."_

_"Seriously? __**I**__ did that? Did...did I kill him?"_

_"No. Crowley still lives, so the war is ongoing, but you...your demonic self, at least...said that you were doing this for Sam and I...for your family," Cas explains quietly, his eyes sliding away from Dean's once again._

_"Oh," Dean says, the insane scheme starting to make a little more sense. He isn't really the king type...but if his demon side thinks this is the best way to keep Sam and Cas safe, he knows he would have dived right in. "I guess that makes sense. I'm not sayin' I __**like**__ it, but I understand."_

_"It's exactly like what I tried to do when I usurped Heaven's power. I wanted to save you...but as we all know, that went horribly wrong," Cas says, shifting so that his back is leaning up against the barrier._

_"Cas...I haven't hurt Sam, have I? Or you?" Dean asks, forehead pressed against the wall as he glances at the angel out of the corner of his eye._

_"Sam is fine," Cas answers...and the way he leaves it at that breaks something inside the hunter._

_"And you?" Dean presses. When Cas doesn't answer, he feels himself start to get desperate. "Cas, tell me what happened. What did I do to you?"_

_Cas sighs heavily, staring off into the darkness as he starts to talk again. "I didn't tell you this before...because I didn't want to hurt you...but I feel you need to know."_

_"Cas...please..." he whispers, feeling his throat start to tighten again. He's feeling guilty already and he doesn't even know what he's done._

_**Just tell me.**_

_"I want you to understand, Dean...you did nothing to me I hadn't desired myself...for so many years. I didn't...try to fight."_

_**Oh, God...**_

_"In fact, it...it made me realize...just how long you and I have been running from each other. At first, I did it to punish myself. I had done too much wrong to ever be worthy of a soul like yours. I could live for eternity and never be worthy of __**you**__...Dean Winchester."_

_"Cas-"_

_"No, Dean. Let...let me finish this," Cas says quietly, his eyes squeezing shut as he continues. "I know how beautiful your soul is. I raised it from the darkness myself. I didn't understand it at first...didn't understand for a long time...but I loved you from the moment I laid hands on you. I was lost...head over heals...stupid in love with you. But...after what happened with Purgatory...I was afraid of what that love could make me do. All my love had done thus far was wreak destruction. I didn't want to see you destroyed, too. So I ran from it," he explains with quiet tears falling down his face. "But now...I just...I'm not so afraid anymore. I'm just...exhausted. I'm so __**tired **__of dreaming up excuses for not coming to you and telling you that my heart __**breaks**__ for you. I don't want to fight anymore, Dean. I don't want to be a soldier. I just want to find a little peace. I don't want to run from this anymore," he finishes, shifting once more so that he's leaning against the barrier with one shoulder. He reaches out a hand, as if he can touch Dean's cheek through the glass...and all the while, Dean just stares back at him with silent tears of his own pouring down his face._

_It's everything he's ever wanted to hear...that Castiel cares for him like this...that he wants to be with him...and it's happening __**now**__...at the moment he's learning what he's done to the angel._

_"So...what?" he starts, voice hitching. He doesn't even try to wipe the tears away. "All that's supposed to just erase the fact that I fuckin' __**raped**__ you?"_

_Cas winces at this, fingers briefly curling against the barrier. "That isn't what I meant. I know...neither of us wanted this to happen this way. I just wanted you to know how I feel...how I've always felt. Nothing will ever change that. None of this is your fault. You can't blame yourself for it."_

_"When have I ever done anything else?" Dean asks, chuckling bitterly. "It's not true, you know."_

_"What?" Cas asks, expression suddenly uncertain. "What's not true?"_

_"The bit about...wreaking destruction. You seem to think...all you've ever done is hurt me. It's not true. There were times when you were the only damn thing worth gettin' up in the morning for. It's just...I don't wanna hurt you. That's why I never let myself...well...looks like I already did. Fuckin' burned that bridge," Dean growls, bashing a fist against the barrier. He doesn't want to look at Cas...doesn't want to see him forgive him for even this._

_"Dean-"_

_"No, Cas. Don't you get it? __**I'm**__ the one who's gonna end up destroyin' __**you.**__ Everything I touch goes bad. I don't know why. I tried so damn hard. I just...I can't...__**God!**__" he shouts, this time bashing his head against the barrier._

_"Dean, calm down," Cas tries to plead with him, fingers pressing fervently against the glass, desperate to reach him, but unable to get through._

_"Calm down? __**Calm down?!**__" he snarls, glaring at the angel. "I've done pretty much the one thing I swore I'd never do and you want me to just let it go?!"_

_"There are still things you don't know, Dean...things you don't understand," Cas says quietly, gaze drifting to the ground._

_"What? You mean it's __**worse?**__ How can it be worse?" he asks, feeling fear sink its claws into his chest once again. What else could have possibly happened?_

_"It isn't like that. If you would just listen-"_

_He might have. Given just a few more words, Dean might have been able to let Cas calm him and talk him through everything, but unfortunately, this is also the moment he feels himself shift and the barrier between them collapses, allowing him to reach forward and seize Castiel's shoulders._

_"So what did you want to hear him say?" he asks, sneering in excitement as he takes in the suddenly fearful look in the angel's blue eyes. "Were you expectin' something out of Romeo and Juliet? You tell him how much you love him and he breaks down like a little bitch and promises you forever? Newsflash, Castiel. Dean __**can't**__ say those things. He's not __**capable**__ of tellin' you how he feels."_

_"He doesn't have to," Castiel says quietly as he looks away from him, eyes closed. "I know. I know what the truth is...and nothing you say will make it otherwise."_

_"What was it he didn't understand?" he asks, grinning when the angel tears himself away from him. _

_"Nothing __**you**__ need to know, demon," Castiel snaps at him._

_"It doesn't matter, you know. Whatever you tell him, you tell me. Maybe I can't reach this last piece of myself, but I still have access to everything he knows. I'll find out eventually," he taunts, following the angel's retreat._

_"Then I would prefer that to be later, rather than sooner. You do not have access to everything __**I**__ know."_

_"Maybe not...but there're plenty of things I know that you don't. Hell can be pretty damn...well...enlightening."_

_For several moments, the demon watches the angel struggle not to react, but ultimately, he turns back to him, glaring...but there's still a touch of fear in his eyes that the demon relishes._

_"What are you talking about?"_

_"You think I did this just so I could see you again...or to test the limits of this freaky bond we've got goin'? No. So long as you keep the First Blade from me, I'm gonna keep at this. Plus, there's an even bigger plan at work here. Y'see, Angelface, you're gonna help me get through to him."_

_The angel's eyes flare to white hot life at this, anger lighting up every molecule of his being. If he could, Dean feels almost certain he would smite him._

_"I will __**die**__ before I let you touch him."_

_"That's where you're wrong, pretty angel. You see, every time we do this little dance, that wall that separates you from him gets a little thinner. No tellin' how much of a beating it can take, but that last little bit of light isn't just keepin' __**you**__ out. It's what keeps __**me**__ out, too. That last little piece of soul...in your mind, I guess you'd say it's protectin' him...and you just wore a little more of it away."_

_"You...you're...I don't believe you!" Castiel snaps, turning away from him, the tremble of his shoulders just barely visible._

_"It doesn't matter whether you believe me or not. It's true. Maybe you should have listened to yourself in the first place...that your love can't do anything but wreak destruction. No matter what you do, Angelface, the man you love is gonna die."_

_"__**ENOUGH!**__" Castiel screams, and the moment he does, the nightmare realm shatters_ and the angel woke with a strangled cry.

"Cas!" Merry yelped in surprise when he bolted up in bed. "Lailah! He's awake!"

The words were barely out of the young hunter's mouth when the other angelappeared in his room, looking concerned.

"Don't tell me," Cas groaned, rubbing his temples in frustration. "Five days?"

Lailah nodded. "Thereabouts. What happened this time?"

"It was...much the same. I saw him again. I wanted to tell him about her...about our child...but when the demon broke through, he told me that anything I tell Dean, he will learn through him. If I tell him...then the demon will also know...and I cannot risk that," he said quietly, a hand shifting unconsciously to his belly. As Lailah came to sit beside him, his stomach growled rather loudly, twisting with the need for food. The angel blushed in mild embarrassment. "Is there anything to eat?"

"We had Chinese last night. There's some leftover dumplings if you're interested," Merry said, and when he nodded, she immediately jumped up to go and grab them.

"Was there more?" Lailah asked gently, resting a hand on his knee.

"He said...that whenever this happens, the barrier that protects that last part of him becomes weaker. It seems it...isn't just the child I must worry about. You don't suppose he...could have been lying to me...do you?" he asked the older angel, hardly daring to allow such a hope. After all, when had luck ever been a part of their lives?

"It seems to me...it would be best to assume he was not. Perhaps this last spark of light exists in all demons? After all, why would this cure work if there was truly nothing remaining of their humanity? I suppose...an opportunity such as this has never existed before. At this juncture, I would say it's best to proceed cautiously. As with everything else, this is all new territory."

"It seems we just...can't catch a break, as they say," Cas said, shoulders slumping slightly. "Is Dorothy all right?" he asked. He'd hate to think that absolutely nothing had come out of this awful mess.

"She's fine. Nothing she won't recover from...with time. I never did thank you, though."

"For what?" Cas asked, looking up at her.

"For restoring my wings to me," she said quietly, and when Cas saw those beautiful new wings flutter excitedly in the plain above, he could also see tears of joy in Lailah's eyes. "I had never...thought to have the power to fly again, but you've given me my wings back. Thank you."

The two angels fell into a comfortable silence after that, silently sharing the joy that only they could understand...the regaining of a power they'd thought lost forever.

If the fallen angels could take wing again, maybe there just might be hope for their doomed struggle after all.

XxX

"So," Sam started as he glanced around the nightclub, "did you have any idea this was a setup?"

"I had my suspicions," Hunter answered. "I should have known something was up when Elaine and Sekhmet talked me into this little black dress get up. Guess I bought into the whole 'it'll be your last chance to wear one for a while' thing."

At nearly three months pregnant, there was still only the slightest hint of a swell beneath the black dress the two girls had talked Hunter into. People probably wouldn't notice unless they knew what they were looking at...or unless they were really rude enough to ask when the baby was due. Whatever the case, she was beautiful. Sam wasn't completely sure where the black silk shirt the girls had leant him came from, but he at least still got to wear his own jeans. The girls had matched them up perfectly-like a couple, and even though Sam knew they weren't, that he had no right to feel this way, he couldn't quite help feeling a twinge of jealousy when he saw the gazes Hunter was drawing. Who did these people think they were? They didn't know her. They didn't know what an amazing woman she was. To them, she was just a pretty face...a body...nothing more.

_And what is she to __**you?**_ he couldn't help asking himself. _Do __**you**__ really know her?_

"Hey, lover boy," Elaine called to him, briefly gripping his arm before going to join Rachael and Sekhmet at the bar. "If you don't like them staring, you should do something about it."

"Says you!" he called after her. She didn't look back, but he did see her shoulders tense briefly.

"Well...I dunno why we were expecting anything different when they said they wanted to celebrate a successful hunt. Is this what you and Dean did after hunts?" Hunter asked him.

"A drink maybe...if we didn't have to skip town right away. This was more Dean's arena than mine, though," he answered, continuing to look around, throwing out the occasional evil eye to anyone whose gaze hung on Hunter too long. They'd stayed in Fall River longer than they'd meant to when a werewolf had started causing trouble. When the three hunters had returned to the coven alive, Sekhmet and Rachael had insisted on going out to celebrate. Now they were at the bar getting drinks while he and Hunter were left to stare awkwardly at the sea of furiously grinding bodies. Ultimately, though, Hunter just threw her head back and laughed.

"You know what? Fuck it. Let's do this thing," she said, grabbing Sam by the hand and pulling him onto the dance floor.

For a moment, he wasn't sure what to do, but Hunter just jumped right into it, rocking her body to the music like nobody was watching. Unable to help smiling at her obvious joy, Sam finally managed to loosen up and just move with her, letting everything else slip away, even if it was only for a moment.

Sam didn't know how long they danced together. He lost track of the number of songs that had played somewhere in the middle of it all. He wasn't thinking about any of the things that had weighed so heavily on his mind these past few months. All he knew was that he was with Hunter, dancing like an idiot, and he was happy...uninhibited. But of course,nothing lasts forever.

The younger Winchester was snapped out of the moment quite suddenly when he looked across the crowded dance floor and happened to see Hannah staring back at him. Tensing briefly, he looked down to see Hunter looking up at him.

"What's wrong?" she called out over the noise of the crowd.

"Nothing," he said absently, glancing back to see the angel slip away. "I...I gotta take a leak," he offered up lamely, using it as an excuse to slip away from her. Not waiting to see if she bought his excuse or not, he quickly followed after Hannah.

The angel slipped out of the club and into a back alley, and when he finally caught up with her, she wouldn't face him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her.

"Fulfilling my purpose," she answered, her voice faint and tired. "I understand it...now that I see her. Hunter Silver is the mother...and _you_ are the desperate child," she said, and when she finally turned to face him, she looked painfully exhausted.

"Me?" he asked quietly. Of all the items remaining, he'd certainly thought that to be the most likely for what he might be, but it was different to hear Hannah confirm it.

"Yes, you are the one."

"So what are you going to do? Cut my heart out?" Sam asked, only half joking. He didn't imagine his heart was anymore literal than any of the other items, but it was still unsettling to see Hannah here. What did she have in mind?

"No. It isn't that part of you the spell requires. What I need from you is your _love,_" she clarified, eyeing him the way a cat eyes a mouse it's about to eat.

"Well...that's a new one," Sam said, backing away just slightly. "How do you plan on harvesting _that?_"

"That's just it. That's the part I can't figure out," the angel growled in frustration. "What physical item could possibly contain your love for Hunter Silver?"

"Hold on a sec. How would you know it's her?" Sam tried to argue, wanting to keep Hunter out of this as best he could. "I mean, she's a wonderful person and all, but I wouldn't go right to love."

"Do not play that game with me, Sam Winchester. Do not try to protect her. I have my sources. I called in a favor from an old Cupid friend of mine."

"Wait? Cupid?" Sam repeated, already feeling dread start to boil in his stomach. If there was a Cupid involved in this, well...he just didn't want to think about what that meant.

"Just so. He'd been so certain he wouldn't need to instigate your union, that the two of you would come together on your own, but when I asked if he'd be willing to set you up a little ahead of schedule, he was only too happy to oblige. You may not realize it, but you've been marked already. The mark of union is within you, _carved_ into your heart."

Sam didn't doubt her. There was no reason to. He'd felt it. He'd just been afraid to put a name to it. Love had done nothing but cause him pain. Why should this be any different? Instead of giving voice to any of that, though, he asked, "What about Hunter? Has she...been marked yet?"

"You were both marked. It was on the night you held her in your arms. Frankly, James is surprised you haven't thrown her down and kissed her from head to toe. The mark of union is very...compelling, shall we say."

"That part I know," Sam growled, trying very hard not to summon up any of the mental images he'd had. "Guess I just have more of a conscience than you'd expected. How is getting us into bed going to further your plan, though?"

"It's about more than just coupling, Sam Winchester. The mark of union is _binding._ It brings forth the love and the desire you conceal. If the two of you come together, the item I need will surely be revealed."

"Then I can tell you right now, it's not gonna happen," Sam said firmly, feeling a flicker of anger beneath his worry. "What I want doesn't matter. What I feel isn't important. I won't let you use us for this, Hannah."

Sam wasn't sure, but in the dim light from the club, he could almost swear he saw Hannah sneer. "Don't try to fool yourself, Winchester. This isn't like Lucifer. It isn't just a simple matter of saying no. You'll be _drawn_ to her...and the longer you resist, the worse it will become. You _cannot_ fight this."

"Watch me," he snapped at her. "You're talking to the guy who fought Lucifer."

"This is different," she said with a knowing smirk. "You _want_ this. How long can you reasonably expect to not give into something that you want?"

"We'll find out," Sam said, grinning as he glanced over Hannah's shoulder just in time to see Hunter press a gun to the back of her head.

"You're a bit off your game, angel, if you didn't notice me coming," the gunsmith said smugly. "Sorry I took so long, Sam. Had to get the gun from the car."

"Do you really believe you can harm me, Hunter Silver?" Hannah asked calmly.

"Yeah, I do, actually. Maybe you're out of the loop, but these rounds contain traces of consecrated metal. Who's rockin' the angel blade now, bitch!" she challenged. "You might want to seriously consider clearing out about now."

"That suits me well enough. I have nothing more to gain by staying. I will return, though. You both have something I need," the angel informed her, not turning to face her.

"I disagree. I believe there is much to be gained by your staying," a new voice announced. The three turned to see a man standing at the entrance to the alley. With his broad shoulders and thickly-muscled arms, he could have easily been some kind of ultimate fighter, but that idea was thoroughly contrasted by the long brown hair tied back in a ponytail.

"Well, looks like back alleys are the place to be tonight," Sam commented, eyeing the newcomer with uncertainty.

"Matarael," Hannah said, her voice rising in mild panic.

"Where are your demon consorts tonight, Hannah?" the man who was clearly an angel asked as he approached them.

"Wait. Did you call him...Matarael?" Hunter asked, gaze darting between the two angels.

"Yes," Hannah answered, her own eyes fixed on the grey-eyed angel.

"My God, it _is_ you," the gunsmith said, eyes narrowing in anger as she looked the angel up and down.

"Hello, Hunter Silver. It's been a long time," the angel returned calmly.

"Not long enough," Hunter snarled, training her gun on Matarael.

"Hold on. You _know_ this guy?" Sam asked her.

"I hate to think you have anything to do with this, Hunter. After all, it was not for nothing that I saved your life all those years ago," the angel said.

"Well, if this thing with Cas puts us on opposite sides, I'm even more for it than I already was. I told you I'd find a way to kill you, Matarael, and I finally did. You're lookin' at my Pieta right here. These little beauties will blow a hole right through your grace," she said, and Sam couldn't help but notice how her anger had brought on that slight twang in her voice yet again.

"Then you know where Castiel is hiding?" Matarael demanded, keeping only part of his attention on the gun pointed at him.

"Yeah, you can forget that. I'll be six feet under before I turn on _any_ of my friends. This ends _now!_" she snarled as she fired.

"I think not," the grey-eyed angel said in the same moment, and faster than the eye could track, he spun out of the way, swiftly plunging his angel blade into Hunter's shoulder. The gunsmith cried out in pain as she dropped to her knees, the gun clattering away.

"_Hunter!_" Sam shouted, immediately moving to her side, shielding her from the angel.

"Perhaps _you_ are willing to die for this cause, Hunter, but are you prepared to let _him_ die for it?" Matarael asked, blade pointing directly at Sam's spine. "Either tell me what I want to know or I'll kill the Winchester in front of you."

"Matarael, _don't!_" Hannah suddenly interrupted. "I need them alive."

"Then tell me _why!_" Matarael growled at the other angel. "Tell me what you know and I might spare him."

It was a no win situation and Sam knew it. Hannah couldn't reveal Cas' secret. The fact that Heaven didn't know about Cas and Dean's kid was really the only thing any of them had going for them. Hunter's gun was just out of his reach and he didn't want to leave her defenseless with a wound from an angel blade.

"Of course you won't," Hannah argued. "What angel would leave a Winchester breathing after everything that's happened? If you don't leave this moment, I will _make_ you leave."

Matarael chuckled darkly at this. "If you could do that, you would have. You never know, though. I might agree with your reason for keeping him alive."

"Oh, I very much doubt it," Hannah said. Then, in a move that absolutely nobody had been expecting, she bodily lifted the other angel and threw him through the brick wall, right into the club.

"Shit," Sam muttered as screams started to echo from the building.

"Sam," Hunter groaned, "if...if we let him...take her back to Heaven...they'll find out about Cas. They'll get it out of her."

"I know. I know," he said, moving away from her for just a moment to grab her gun. "Can you even move?"

"Just...help me walk. We gotta...Elaine...and the others...they're still in there."

"Right," Sam said, helping her to her feet. She leaned heavily against him as they moved, her shoulder bleeding freely. He was afraid to even consider what sort of damage an angel blade might have done to her with just a tiny stab wound like that.

Sam could already see that the club was in chaos when he and Hunter entered through the demolished wall. There were several bodies scattered among the collapsed brick and many more people still standing attempting to flee the scene as the two angels fought. The only ones who did not flee, though, were the three women standing at the bar.

Seeing the two of them, the hunter and the two witches quickly circled around the battling angels, coming to help him support Hunter.

"What happened?" Elaine demanded as she tried to examine the wound in the gunsmith's shoulder.

"We've got to get out of here!" Rachael tried to insist.

"No," Sam said firmly, still holding tightly to Hunter. "I don't know how, but we've got to make sure this guy doesn't take Hannah with him."

"Sam...my blood," Hunter mumbled weakly. "Use it...draw the banishing sigil."

"That _could_ work," he said, "but would it keep her away from him? We'd be rid of the angels, but would the sigil just banish them to the same place?"

"What if Hannah were to activate the sigil herself?" Elaine suggested.

"That might actually work."

"So what you're saying is you need a way of getting her over here," Sekhmet said with a suddenly excited grin.

"Yeah," Sam said, not completely certain what she was thinking.

"One distraction comin' right up," the witch practically sang. Then, right before their eyes, she transformed into a large, sleek panther. Midnight fur quickly sprouted from her skin as her limbs bulked out and she easily collapsed into a four-legged figure. She made it look as easy as slipping on a coat. Rearing her head back, the jungle cat gave an unearthly scream before throwing herself into the fight, gleaming fangs ready for blood.

"Sam...hurry," Hunter urged. "Not...much time."

"Right. Elaine, do you know it?" he asked her, to which she nodded, running a finger through the blood that painted Hunter's side. Working quickly, she drew a hasty banishing sigil on the floor.

Unfortunately for Sekhmet, she wasn't able to stay in the fight for very long. After getting in a few good swipes at Matarael's back, he easily tossed her aside. The panther smashed hard into the far wall before crashing to the floor, raising her head only once before falling completely still.

"Sekhmet!" Rachael cried out in fear.

"We can't keep this up," Elaine said. "We need to do something."

"Need..._help_," Hunter murmured in Sam's ear, gripping his shoulder just a little tighter. It didn't take any more than that for him to realize what she meant, but were they really that desperate?

"Are you sure?" he asked her. "Can we trust them?"

"There's no time," she hissed. "If you don't do it...I will."

"Fine, but if this gets us killed-"

"You'll kill me. I get it," she said with a pained smile.

"Tek! Kiah! We need your help!" he shouted, not really knowing what else to do.

That seemed to be all that was needed, though, as the pair suddenly appeared at the center of the deserted dance floor, both in human form. When the two angels noticed them, their fighting immediately ceased.

"The dogs of Egypt," Matarael said with a mocking sneer. "What are you doing here?"

"Serving humanity, which is more than the _dogs of God_ have ever done," Tek snapped at the angel. "Our master is working to ease the pain of the souls trapped in the veil. What is Heaven doing?"

"The best we can. When we have upstarts like this lot working against us, there's only so much we can do."

"If that is all it takes to hinder you, perhaps you deserved to be toppled," Kiah said. "We will allow Heaven to do no further harm in this world!"

With that, the two snapped the crystal pendants they wore from their chains. The charms immediately transformed into crystalline blades and the two servants were instantly on the attack, Tek launching himself at Matarael and Kiah flying at Hannah.

"Kiah, we need her. Get her over here!" Sam called out. Hearing him, Kiah began to maneuver Hannah in their direction, ankh and angel blades clashing furiously. When Sam glanced toward the fight between Matarael and Tek, he noticed that Tek actually seemed to be injuring the angel with his strange crystalline weapon.

Kiah and Hannah struggled for several more minutes before Kiah managed to subdue her, knocking the angel's blade aside and laying her own to her throat.

"Hannah, we've got a banishing sigil here. Use it," Sam told her. "Get that bastard out of here."

Hannah didn't say anything, just dropped to her knees the moment Kiah lifted the ankh blade away and slammed her palm against the sigil. There was an instant flash of light and when it had cleared, Matarael had vanished, leaving a very relieved-looking Tek behind.

"All right, Hannah, you're in the clear. Now get out of here," Sam snapped at her.

"I shall," the angel said as her gaze shifted suspiciously between the two newcomers, "but do not doubt I will return." With that, Hannah got to her feet and walked out of the partly demolished building.

"Well-timed, that," Tek said with a wry smile. "We can do plenty of damage with these blades, but we'd never have any hope of actually _killing_ an angel."

"Sam...I don't think...I can stand anymore," Hunter muttered weakly, her full weight suddenly collapsing against him.

"Hey, hey, no," Sam argued as he slowly lowered the gunsmith to the floor, her head resting in his lap. "You damn well better not be dying on me, Hunter Silver."

"Nah," she whispered. "Just...really fuckin' tired," she mumbled, eyes slowly slipping shut.

"Hey! _Hunter!_" Sam shouted, but even that didn't rouse her. She was out cold. Reminded of another knife wound not all that long ago, Sam couldn't deny the fear creeping up in his gut. If she didn't wake up...

"The wound is not fatal," Kiah announced as she knelt with them, her blade shrinking back down to its original pendant size. "It seems the angel had no wish to kill her. She is just very drained," she explained, placing the tip of the crystal against the wound in Hunter's shoulder. A spark of light shone within the crystal and the wound immediately sealed itself up, but Hunter remained passed out. "Just let her sleep. She'll be fine in the morning."

"What about...the babies? Are they gonna be okay?" Sam asked her.

Kiah nodded. "They will be fine. They were not harmed."

"This woman will also recover," Tek reported from the other side of the room. Whatever he'd done to Sekhmet, she was lying on the floor in human form, just as out cold as Hunter was.

"We should get them back to the house. No way the cops aren't gonna be showing up here any minute now," Elaine reminded them all. "We definitely don't want to be here when they do."

Sam nodded, lifting Hunter into his arms without even thinking about it. Tek also picked up Sekhmet and he and Kiah followed Rachael and Elaine out the destroyed back wall with Sam not far behind. As the two young women led the way back to Sekhmet's car, he couldn't help looking down at Hunter now and again. Even though Kiah had said she would be fine, he knew he wouldn't be able to stop worrying until she was awake again. So much had happened tonight, _too_ much to properly think about. Most troubling of all was this whole mark of union business. All of the women in his past had met with horrible fates. What would happen to the woman he was _bound_ to?

XxX

When Hannah limped back to her motel room, all she could really do was collapse on the bed. She'd gotten herself proper warding tattoos, but somehow, Matarael had still managed to find her. The wounds from her other opponent's blade were healing, but it was happening slowly. It wasn't the instantaneous process she was used to. It had all gone so very wrong.

Everything was going wrong. Ever since she'd learned about Olivia, her vessel's soul had been tangling with awareness just beneath her own and it was hideously distracting. She'd made no progress on obtaining any more of the items and she still couldn't figure out what the final one was or who might possess it. Even if she didn't know specifically what the heart and the trust were, she'd at least figured out who possessed them.

On top of everything else, she couldn't seem to shake Heaven's pursuit. Matarael would be on her until they got what they wanted and she _knew_ she couldn't let that happen.

At this point, it seemed that the best way forward would be to pursue the fourth item: the perfect height of faith, hatred, and love. She'd only been avoiding it because going after it would involve doing something she really didn't want to. So, when her wounds had finally healed, she rose from the ratty bed and pulled together the items she needed for a summoning spell.

When the ritual was complete, Dean Winchester was standing before her.

"Oh, Hannah. Lemme think, last time I saw you was when you were tellin' Castiel to _kill_ me. Word for the wise, feathery bitch, not likely to put you on my good side," he told her, looking like he'd like nothing better than to kill her. "Why did you call me?"

"Because I have information you need. I believe we could be of help to each other, Dean Winchester," she said, trying to keep her voice level, trying to deny the fact that she was afraid of this demon.

Dean actually laughed at this, shakin his head as he started to circle her. "How's that?"

"There's something you don't know...about Castiel."

XxX


End file.
